Star Wars: Ravager
by Fanofallthethings
Summary: This is a SI crossover-ish involving elements from the Korean manwha The Gamer, and taking place in Star Wars. The Gamer wasn't available in the category section, so sorry about that. Anyways, watch our hero kick ass through the Star Wars universe. Heavily inspired by USSExplorer's A New Player in the Force. Hope you enjoy!
1. Prologue Take Two

**Prologue - Where Am I, And What Happened To My Pants?**

I was standing in a white room. No features, no nothing. Naturally, I decided to look around this strange place I had found myself in. It was when I started moving (cause yeah, for all the weirdness I could still walk), I felt certain dangly bits… move, more than I was accustomed to outside of the shower, so I looked down. And promptly swore, my first words in this strange world. "Well, fuck my ass and call me Sally," I muttered. "Not only am I in some Life Howling-type white room, who or whatever did this took my goddamn pants." This was my usual mode of dealing with, well, unexpected things. Curse and complain, then solve the problem and move on. But standing in the middle of a bare white room, alone, you can imagine my surprise when something talked back.

" **User input not recognized. Please restate."** The voice came from everywhere and nowhere, and when I didn't respond it spoke again. " **Examining data. Subject appears to be what is colloquially known as 'bitching', or saying stupid shit that doesn't solve a damn thing."** As the voice continued, the robotic tones disappeared and it sounded more and more like a person. Specifically, like a certain old man I had known before I came wherever here was.

I figured since whatever it was was responding to me, I might as well try to get some answers out of it. "Hey, voice thing. Where am I?" I shouted.

" **Everywhere, and nowhere."**

I rolled my eyes. We were back to the robot. "Ok, then why am I here?" I continued.

" **All will be revealed in the fullness of time."**

I started to ask a question, then paused. That last statement sounded familiar. I dredged my brain for a moment, then came up with where I had heard it before. "Did you just quote Alaric Garaunt?" I asked incredulously.

"' **All will be revealed in the fullness of time', a quote used by fictional character Alaric Garaunt throughout the Sanctuary Series, written by Michael J. Crane. Congratulations, User. World One is unlocked.**

"Alright then," I muttered. "Whatever that means. If this is nowhere, am I just insane? Is this happening inside my head?"

" **Of course it's happening inside your head, but why on Earth should that mean it's not real?"**

"You just quoted Albus fucking Dumbledore."

" **Correct. Congratulations, User. World Two is unlocked. People have an annoying habit of remembering things they shouldn't."**

"Brom, Eragon," I rattled off, right before the quote made me, funnily enough, remember something I probably shouldn't. "Oh, fuck," I gasped. "I'm dead, aren't I?"

" **Congratulations, User. World Three is unlocked. To answer your question succinctly, yes. But you're no good to me dead."**

"Really?!" I yelled. "Another quote?! I'm dead, asshole! You could at least let me work through that!"

" **Please identify the quote in the next sixty seconds, or your Second Life chance will be forfeited, in which case you will move on to the eternity of your chosen religion."**

I seized onto the words 'Second Life', and sputtered out the answer. "Boba Fett, _Empire Strikes Back_."

" **Congratulations, User. World Four is unlocked. Second Life is confirmed. You may now ask questions of the interface before moving on."**

"How did I die?" I asked immediately.

" **What do you remember?"**

"I was in Kabul, in Afghanistan. I was a Marine scout sniper, and I had been tasked with finding a kid, some dumb college student, who got lured in by ISIS. I found them, there was a gunfight, then I grabbed the kid and ran for it. That's the last thing I remember."

" **The 'kid', as you call him was wearing a suicide vest. He detonated it as you hauled him away. Do you have any other questions before we move on?"**

I shook my head mutely, unable or unwilling to respond.

" **Physical input accepted. Proceeding to World Selection. Of the four worlds you have identified, which would you like to be reborn into?"**

 **Arkaria**

 **Harry Potter**

 **Alagaesia**

 **Star Wars**

"Wait, what?" I said, shocked back out of silence. "None of those are real, and may I say, that's a pretty shit selection out of all the sci-fi/fantasy worlds out there."

" **Incorrect. None of these world are real in your home dimension, however they all exist elsewhere in the multiverse. The creators of each of these stories were special beings afforded glimpses into the multiverse. Additionally, you may choose any universe you know of. These four were chosen based on your knowledge of their worlds."**

"Not to be rude to a disembodied voice that holds my life in its hands, but this sounds like the kind of shit fanfiction I would have written when I was fourteen."

The voice once again adopted the tone of my former drill instructor. " **Fuck you, asshole."**

"Y'know, shouldn't I be freaking out? I mean, I just realized I'm dead, and an invisible robot is making fun of me."

" **Correction. I am not a robot, meatbag. I am a highly advanced artificial intelligence created to interact with humans who pass through the Second Life program. Explanation. Emotions are currently suppressed due to subject's extreme emotional state on realizing they were dead.**

 **Unique Skill created: Gamer's Mind**

 **Passive Skill**

 **Effect: Extreme emotion will be suppressed, allowing user to think clearly in dangerous situations.**

"Skill? What is this, some kind of game?"

" **Of sorts. You will be reborn into your chosen world with the abilities of a game character, such as the ability to instantly acquire skills and abilities. Additionally, your life will no longer be tied to your physical wellbeing, but to a Hit Point system. Hit Points will be set at character creation."**

"Character creation?"

" **Character creation will begin after a world is selected."**

After a few minutes of mulling it over, I decided that the Star Wars universe was probably my best bet, as I knew the most about it's depth and lore. "I want to be reborn into the Star Wars universe."

" **Choice accepted. Legends, Disney canon, or modified?"**

"Modified?"

" **You may pick and choose which elements of Legends and canon are included in the universe."**

"Select modified. Use Legends continuity, with the addition of the Clone Wars movie and TV show, with the exception of all data related to Mandalore. Mandalore will remain as described in Legends." Much as I liked that show and respected Filoni, he fucked up Mandalore and the Mandalorians bad.

" **Choice accepted. Proceeding to Character Creation. Please select your given name."**

"Ryn." The name of an OC I had made when I was eighteen, and one of the few I had actually made into a fleshed-out character.

" **Name accepted. Please select your race from the list."**

I scrolled through the list, and idea beginning to form. Certain races in Star Wars were known to have strong Force affinity, to the point that most, if not all of them, were able to manipulate the Force to some extent. The trouble was deciding which one. Miraluka had been wiped from the face of the galaxy during the aftermath of the Jedi Civil War Revan had started, so they were out. Korunnai could use the Force, but the vast majority of them were extremely weak. Most of the other species were non-humanoid, and I wasn't interesting in changing my physiology that much. It was at the bottom of the list I found my answer. The Sith species were powerful Force sensitives, the problem was that they were all either dead or in hiding, and the Jedi would destroy me on sight. Luckily, there was an option for a half-Sith. Guaranteed Force abilities, along with looking human. "Select half-Sith species," I said.

" **Species accepted. Please indicate other genetic half, as well as hair and eye color."**

"Human, dark brown hair, brown eyes. No sense in standing out," I responded.

" **Hair accepted. Eye color invalid. All Sith and Sith descended species have either red or yellow eyes."**

"Well, if I can't go low-key, might as well go for intimidation factor. Red eyes."

" **Accepted. Please select age at which you would like to enter the universe."**

For my plan to work, I would need to maximize my training. And for the group I planned to use to achieve my goals, I knew what age I needed to be to begin my training. "Set age to eight standard years," I said.

" **Age accepted. Please distribute stat points. The stat values available are: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8. Your Sith species grants a +2 bonus to both Strength and Wisdom. The six abilities are Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Charisma, and Wisdom. Would you like an explanation of each stat?"**

"Yes."

" **Strength sets your physical prowess. Higher strength means you can equip heavy equipment and effectively use most weapons. Constitution sets your Health Points, as well as determining your unarmored armor rating. Dexterity measures your speed and reflexes. High dexterity means you can move faster and use weapons more efficiently. This stat also provides bonuses with ranged weaponry. Intelligence is your ability to understand and perform complicated tasks. High intelligence is required for most technical skills. Wisdom measures your understanding of the world and intuition. A high wisdom modifier also allows you to resist mind-affecting substances and force powers, as well as boosting your own force effectiveness. Finally, Charisma is your ability inspire and lead others. Generals have high charisma, while footsoldiers have low Charisma. As this is the real world, charisma can only make you more likely to succeed in a persuasion attempt, but a well-thought out, logical, or emotional appeal can substitute for a high Charisma if you know what to say. Every two points in a stat provides a +1 modifier for that stat."**

"What is the real-world equivalent of these stat values?"

" **At a base 10, or +0 to each stat, a fully mature half-Sith would be able to easily lift 50 kilograms (Strength), run a kilometer in two and a half minutes (Dexterity). Constitution does not possess a real-world equivalent, as most sentients do not possess HP. They would also easily perform what you would call college-level academics, provided they have been taught the material (Intelligence), influence small groups of people to help them or do their bidding (Charisma), and have a simple understanding of how the galactic order works, and resist weaker mind-altering substances and minor Force abilities (Wisdom).**

"Set Strength to 13, Dexterity to 14, Constitution to 15, Intelligence to 12, Charisma to 10, and Wisdom to 8. What would that give me?

" **Accounting for racial bonuses, a Strength of 15 would allow you to easily lift 60 kilograms, a Dexterity of 14 would allow you to run a kilometer in two minutes unencumbered, a Constitution of 15 grants you one hundred and fifty Health Points (HP), and Intelligence of 12 allows you to learn advanced skills and understand complex equations, e.g. hyperspace equations, Charisma of 10 would allow you to influence a small group, and Wisdom of 10 allows you to resist minor confusion, control, or illusion effects. Would you like to confirm these stats?"**

"Confirm stat distribution."

" **Understood. Current stat levels are as follows:"**

 **Hit Points: 150/150**

 **Strength 15**

 **(+2)**

 **Constitution 15**

 **(150 HP)**

 **Dexterity 14**

 **(+2)**

 **Intelligence 12**

 **(+1)**

 **Charisma 10**

 **(+0)**

 **Wisdom 10**

 **(+0)**

" **Congratulations. Your stats grant you to following proficiencies:"**

 **Melee Weapons**

 **Light Weapons**

 **Medium Weapons**

 **Light Armor**

 **Medium Armor**

 **Heavy Armor (combined Strength and Constitution scores)**

 **Novice Mechanic**

 **Novice Slicer**

 **Squad Leader**

 **Acolyte**

"What benefits do these proficiencies give me?"

" **You can effectively wield melee weapons, blaster pistols and rifles, and all forms of armor. You have basic mechanical and computer skills, can lead a small group, and your Wisdom makes you an Acolyte, which when combined with your racial traits grants you access to basic Force powers if you can find a teacher. You may receive additional proficiencies, as well as skills, after selecting your class. Display class list now?"**

"Yes."

" **Available classes are as follows:"**

 **Novice Force User**

 **Lightsider**

 **Darksider**

 **Soldier**

 **Mercenary**

 **Smuggler**

 **Scout**

 **Citizen**

"Can I get an explanation of the classes?"

" **Affirmative. Dedicated Force-using classes are as follows: Novice Force Users have access to basic Force powers, such as telekinesis, minor telepathy, and Force Push, as well as being unaligned to any Force-using faction. Lighsiders possess the same abilities, in addition to an easy route to learn more in return for being bound to a light-side Force faction. Darksiders are the same, just bound to a dark-side faction."**

"Tell me about the non-Force user classes."

" **These classes are not dedicated Force users, but are still capable of learning Force abilities if the user has the potential, as you do. Soldiers are warriors of their chosen faction, fighting honorably against their foes. Soldiers possess the ability to use any and all weapons and armor, as well as having battlefield medic training. Mercenaries have the same bonuses while being unaligned with any faction, able to work for anyone for their own reasons, as well as not possessing a code beyond what they choose for themself. Smugglers…"**

"Stop there, please," I interrupted. "Select Mercenary class."

" **Confirmed. Please review and confirm or change final character sheet."**

 **~Name Not Set~**

 **Level 1 Half-Sith Mercenary**

 **Strength: 15** **Proficiencies: Melee, Light, Medium, Heavy**

 **Dexterity: 14** **Weapons, Light, Medium, Heavy Armor,**

 **Constitution: 15** **Novice Mechanic, Novice Slicer, Squad**

 **Intelligence: 12** **Leader, Acolyte, Battlefield Medic**

 **Charisma: 10**

 **Wisdom: 10**

"Confirm character sheet."

" **Character sheet confirmed. Please choose entry point in timeline."**

"Rise of the Empire era. Battle of Galidraan." I had a plan, and that plan

required me to test my abilities as soon as possible.

" **Warning: Player has chosen extremely dangerous insertion point at current level. Proceed anyway?"**

"Proceed."

" **Input confirmed. Please choose family name. Alert: well-known names may be chosen, however they will force events to unfold along predetermined avenues."**

"Set family name to Greth."

" **Identity confirmed. Would you like to review your character information before entering the world?"**

"No."

" **Proceeding with Second Life Protocol. Have a good life, Ryn Greth."**

As I watched, the world swirled, then turned to black, as I left the last vestige of my old life behind and entered this strange new world.

 **A/N: Hey guys, sorry make you read all the exposition shit again, but now it's different! And (hopefully) less totally fucking broken!**


	2. Chapter 1 - Galidraan Take Two

**A/N: Hey y'all, less changes to this chapter than the previous one, but nevertheless changes that needed to be made. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Chapter One - Galidraan**

When I came to myself, I was sitting in a bucket seat with straps holding my now much smaller body in place. I was obviously in the bay of some kind of drop ship, as on either side of me, as well across a short walkway, were lines of men and women of various species, all dressed in full Mandalorian armor minus helmets, which sat on the floor between their feet. I gave a small inward cheer. I had hoped I would start my new life with Mandalorians, as otherwise the next few steps would have been considerably more difficult. Looking down at my diminutive new body, I took stock of what I had on me. Assorted armor plates, obviously not enough to count as full armor since I didn't have a light armor related perk, covered my chest, stomach, thighs, and crotch.

There was webbing over my armor plates, carrying a pair of medpacs, several sharps of some kind, what looked like a combat knife, and a few spare magazines for a weapon, that, I saw when I checked my belt holster, I did not have. After a few moments of examination, I realized that the sharps were a mix of painkillers and coagulating agents, useful for a quick fix in the middle of combat. As I finished my check, I looked up and saw the woman across the aisle nodding approvingly at the man next to me. I turned to look at him, and saw a smile spread across his face. "Checking for _skraan, ad'ike_?" he asked, the smile spreading still wider.

As this was apparently my new father, I smiled back and responded. In Mando'a, in case you were wondering. "No, _Buir._ Just making sure I'm ready," I said.

He reached over and ruffled my hair. "Good man. _Kandosii_." He reached into the gear bag at his feet and withdrew something, reversing his grip and handing it over to me.

As I took hold, I realized I was holding the grip of a Verpine shatter gun pistol, obviously the weapon that the magazines in my webbing went to. Instinct and years of previous experience taking over, I thumbed the magazine release, placed in a remarkably similar place as the Beretta M9. The mag dropped into my other hand, I racked back the slide, caught the slug that jumped out of the chamber, and made sure the weapon was clear. That done, I smoothly slid the magazine back into the grip, racked the slide, safed it, and dropped it into the holster at my belt. Looking back up, I saw the wide grin still on my father's face as he ruffled my hair again.

It was at that moment that another Mando poked his head down into the bay from the pilot's station. "Five minutes to atmosphere! _Buy'cese_!" he yelled. Up and down the line, men and women picked up the helmets that sat at their feet and sealed them to the neck of their armor, changing instantly from men and women joking around with their friends to faceless, lethal Mandalorians.

Looking at my own feet, I saw a scaled-down version of the ubiquitous Mandalorian helmet. I reached down and scooped it up, placing it on my head. The heads-up display instantly came alive, overwhelming me for a brief moment before I suddenly found myself able to parse through the information to get what I needed. My **Gamer's Mind** skill at work, I supposed. Though from what I understood of Star Wars, this HUD was extremely simple, only displaying some environmental data, a comms icon, my ammo, and my current HP level. I assumed the last two were unique to me.

Another shout came down from the cockpit. "Thirty seconds to atmosphere!"

Around me, soldiers tightened down their restraints and secured their weapons and other gear. Seconds later the rattling started, quickly becoming a shake, and then the ship began buffeting back and forth. Normally, vessels in Star Wars made smooth entries to atmosphere, but I supposed that a high-speed combat insertion was a different matter.

"Sixty seconds to landing zone!" The shout came moments after the buffeting stopped, and the Mandos instantly unbuckled, swung out of their seats, and resecured their kit to hardpoints on their armor. Following their example, I checked that my weapon and other gear was secure, then followed my new father towards the back, in a similar manner to the jump training I had been offered in the Marines during a Stateside rotation. Just like at home, a light went green, the door opened, and the first soldier jumped out. Unlike at home, they had no parachutes. Instead, as they dropped away they triggered a controller, igniting the jetpack on their back to fiery life. I was one of the last off of the transport, stopped at a dead hover to keep us on the LZ. I didn't have a jetpack, but Mandalorians are ballsy shits, not stupid, so I jumped, trusting that they had a plan. Turns out they did. Also turns out that it sucked. After falling twenty feet or so, (the dropship was hovering at about two hundred), my father, the only one left behind me on the transport, slammed into my back, securing straps between the hardpoints on each our of our armor, and ignited his jetpack. Why the fuck they didn't just give me my own pack, that annoying-ass computer that stuck me here only knew. Moments later, we hit dirt, those who had gone before us already fanning out with rifles ready, scanning for hostiles. The instant our boots hit dirt, my _buir_ smacked a quick release, separating us. He swung around a blaster rifle of a type I didn't recognize, moving towards the perimeter. I drew my Verp and followed, staying tight on his six.

After making sure everyone was down and regrouped, the comms crackled to life in my helmet. "Contact at three o'clock. _Oya manda_." The group spread out on a line and moved in the indicated direction, moving surprisingly stealthily for a group of heavily armed and armored soldiers. Mandos were the best in the business for a reason, after all. We drew closer to the enemy indicated on my HUD's radar, and as I watched two soldiers broke away from the line, jumping a pair of sentries, allowing us passage through the enemy picket line. A moment later, explosions lit up the forest we snuck through, from the two sentries that had just been taken down. The comm crackled back to life. "Ambush! Ambush! It's a trap!"

Even as the warning came through, the camp we had been sneaking towards boiled to life, enemy troops charging towards us in the trees. The forward elements of our unit opened fire, and it was at the moment that glowing blades erupted from the hands of the enemies. Even though I knew it was coming, I still winced. The blow the Mandalorians were about suffer would plague them for years to come. Unless I could stop it. I opened my own comms and started shouting. " _Jetti!_ It's the kriffing Jedi! Fall back! Fall back!"

Unfortunately, in the sudden welter of comm traffic at the appearance of these unexpected enemies my call went unnoticed. As one, most everyone started to scatter, firing at the advancing Jedi as they came. As I raised my pistol to shoot a Twi'lek female about to fall upon one of the Mandos, a hand clamped down on my arm, dragging me away from the fight. I looked up and nearly dropped my sidearm in surprise when I saw Jango _shabla_ Fett himself was the one with a grip on me. My father was on the other side, laying down fire as we retreated through the snow-covered trees. Another Mandalorian quickly joined us, followed by a few others. Jango immediately started issuing orders. "Gan, get your boy and the wounded back to drop zone. I already called in the pilots for evac. Myles, with me. We're gonna kill some _jetti_ to give the others time to get away," he said. Gan, my father (I hadn't bothered to learn his name since Jango was the only one who walked away from this fight) nodded and, motioning to a couple others who clutched various injuries, I suppose from reflected blaster fire, turned back towards the LZ.

About ten minutes after we split off, my sensors picked up someone, or rather a group of someones, rapidly gaining on us. One of the wounded turned towards Gan. "Go!" she yelled. "Get you and your boy clear! We'll buy as much time as we can!"

My father simply stopped moving, skidding to a stop next to them. "Too late," he said, and I could hear the resignation in his voice. Seconds later, the Jedi were on top of us. I faded back towards the bushes. I didn't stand a chance against any Jedi they would send to fight battle hardened Mandalorians, at least not in a straight fight. Moments after, three Jedi lay dead, alongside my father and the others. Good job I hadn't gotten attached. I knew he wouldn't make it. I pulled my helmet off, showing my child's face to the Jedi. I was banking on their moral bullshit to keep me alive long enough to kill them. I made sure to add a quiver to my lip, and allowed tears to gather in my eyes.

"Barbarians," one of the Jedi growled, "bringing a child onto a battlefield." He glared at the corpses, before being shushed by another of the fools.

This second Jedi stepped forward, kneeling down to my own height. "Hello, child," he said. "I'm sorry you had to see that, but don't worry we'll keep you safe now."

I emphasized the quiver in my lip, and made sure my voice sounded as childlike as possible. "R-really?" I stuttered.

The Jedi shifted closer, still with an insufferable half smile on his face. "Of course, child, we-." Here he cut off, as the combat knife I had quietly drawn while he was distracted by my near tears found his throat, splitting it from ear to ear. In a blink, reflexes from performing similar maneuvers dozens of times in training and a few times for real in my old life, my Verp cleared its holster, raised, and leveled over the shoulder of the shocked and near-dead Jedi in front of me. One, two, three trigger squeezes, and I watches as the projectiles struck the other, equally surprised Jedi in the chest, the base of the throat, and, in a perfect coup-de-grace, right between the eyes. He crumpled without a sound. I sighed to myself. I fucking hate sanctimonious assholes. Y'know, Jedi.

I retrieved my knife from where I had dropped it to draw my pistol, wiping the dirty blade on slit-throat's robes. As an afterthought I retrieved the two's lightsabers from their belts, where they had clipped them while dealing with a child. While doing so, the commlink on one of their belts buzzed. "Ved? Ved, are you there? Report in, Knight," the voice said.

An evil grin spread across my face as I plucked up the the comm. "Hello? Hello?" I whimpered. "Please, help me! The bad men are…" here I trailed off, picking up one of the fallen Mandos blasters and firing it into a tree a few times.

The voice came back, suddenly much less composed than it had been. "Stay there, kid! I'm sending Jedi to help you!" it shouted. I just smiled and dropped the device. Turning and scanning the area, I spotted something that would suit my need perfectly. A sturdy-looking tree with several low-hanging branches. I scrambled up and settled in to wait, retrieving my helmet as I did so and settling it back on my head.

The comms traffic among the surviving Mandalorians was especially bleak. Jango Fett was in the middle of issuing orders when I heard him stop and shout suddenly. " _MYLES_!" I knew that that meant some Jedi were about to get torn apart with his bare hands, the event that led Dooku to seek him out as the template for the clone army.

Soon enough, Jedi arrived. Three of them this time, they looked at the carnage with consternation. Probably couldn't remember the last time they fought an enemy capable of felling five of their number in a single engagement. That number was about to go up. I level the DH-447 sniper rifle I had scavenged from one of the fallen Mandos. Too big and unwieldy for me normally, even with my basically superstrength (which the system had decreased a bit due to my current age, fucking realism), but just right when braced against a tree branch. I put the scopes' crosshairs at the based of my first target's skull, a perfect cranial vault shot. In my old world, that shot was risky, as the bullet might skim off. With lasers, that was no longer a problem. I pulled the trigger, and watched as the blaster bolt burned through the Jedi's skull. As tempting as it was to immediately switch targets, it was better practice to maintain sight picture to make sure a follow-up shot was unnecessary. It was, as the Jedi crumpled like a stringless puppet. I swung to the next target, and, as they were now alert to my ambush, didn't bother with a head shot. Instead, I simply put three bolts through her chest. There wasn't much left when I finished.

Unfortunately, the last Jedi had ascertained my position and ripped the rifle from my grip with the Force, neatly unbalancing me and forcing me to jump from the tree. I had stayed low, expecting this, but nevertheless I watched my HP tick down by about ten points. Now on the ground with the enemy, it was tempting to draw one of the lightsabers I had scavenged and pick a fight, but that was asking for death, even with my _beskar_ armor. So I did the next best thing. I threw my knife at the Jedi's head, and while he was occupied with using the Force to block it, his saber still on his belt, my pistol once more leapt to my hand. This time I emptied the magazine, all fifteen round aimed at the Jedi's chest. The Jedi died, punctured a dozen times by the metal rounds. It was then that I noticed he wore a braid. I had lucked out, only having to actually fight a Padawan. One day I would be able to go toe to toe with a Jedi Master, but, as Aragorn once said, today is not that day.

I collected the sabers from those I had killed and recovered my weapons as well as some other kit, then retreated a ways into the woods, hiding in the middle a thicket I only managed to fit into due to my child's size. Reasonably certain now that I wouldn't be discovered on accident, I opened the comm channel we had been using. It was ominously silent. Using the ancient communication system of daditda, I broadcast a message in the static identifying myself, my need for extraction, and a nearby clearing as a rendezvous point. Setting the message on repeat, I settled in to wait, utilizing a skill soldiers in any universe share: the ability to fall asleep anywhere.

I was awakened by a faint alarm in my helmet. A quick check of my chrono display told me I had been asleep for about three hours. A message, also in daditda was marching across my HUD. "This is Fett. Confirm identity, sign Death Watch."

I broadcast the appropriate countersign, not sure how exactly I knew what it was, but equally sure it was correct. "This is Greth. Countersign Jaster Mereel. _Su'cuy gar, Manda'lor._ " I had ID'd myself as a Mando survivor and appended a standard Mandalorian greeting. So you're still alive, _su'cuy gar._

The response was quick in coming. " _Su'cuy,_ Ryn. Rendezvous with _Slave I_ at 1900 hours local."

Another glance at my chrono told me it was currently 1707. If I beelined, I could make it to the rendezvous in about thirty minutes. But with high likelihood of _jetti_ still stalking the woods, and the five lightsabers on my belt to make me a target, discretion was the better part of valor. I'd take every minute of that time to get to the rendezvous stealthily. I sent a confirmation message, and went over my current gear before moving out. My combat knife, cleaned with snow and the robes of a dead Jedi. My Verp, along with two full mags and a half mag. A Trandoshan APC array gun with twelve cartridges, along with an EE-3 blaster carbine. I kept the shotgun slung across my back by it's strap, and carried the carbine at the ready.

After nearly two hours of careful sneaking, dodging a few Jedi patrols (turns out my Wisdom score didn't just prevent some mind tricks from working, it helped block Force detection as well, at least when used with the tricks Atton Rand used in KOTOR II. God, I hate Pazaak), I arrived at the rendezvous point at 1859. Right on the dot of 1900, _Slave I_ darted out of sky, snapped horizontal, and pancaked down into the clearing, the ramp lowering as it did. I instantly broke cover, making a mad dash for the ramp. Of course a pair of Jedi showed up right then, but they quickly gave up the chase after I sent a spray of blasterfire from my carbine at their heads as I rushed up the ramp. As soon as I hit the cockpit and got my ass in the copilot's seat, _Slave I_ blasted out of the clearing, making a beeline for hard vacuum.

This was the first deviation from canon, as Jango was supposed to have been captured. The Jedi who captured him must have been one of the ones I killed or something. Interesting. Now I got my first look at Jango sans helmet in my new life. Huh. He looked like a young Temuera Morrison. Seems people would look like their actors in my first life, making things much easier when I need to find people.

Now outside the planet's gravitational pull, Jango pushed us into the otherness of hyperspace. He still hadn't spoken a word, but now he turned towards me and opened his mouth, but suddenly everything froze, and a message appeared in front of me.

 **[Congratulations on your survival! Skills and experience will now be awarded!]**

 **Due to your possession of a lightsaber, a new proficiency has been added: Proficiency: Lightsaber Wielding**

 **Due to surviving an S class scenario, you have been awarded two levels!**

 **Congratulations, you are now LVL 2!**

 **HP: +10**

 **New skills awarded!**

 **Mercenaries' Luck (Active Skill): You can heal 50% of your maximum HP once a day when you're in a pinch!**

 **Crack Shot (Passive Skill): Enjoy some improved accuracy with ranged weapons!**

 **Congratulations, you are now LVL 3!**

 **HP: +10**

 **New skill awarded!**

 **Swordsman: Enjoy the benefit of years of swords training, without the training! (Does not apply to lightsabers)**

 **Would you like to see your current character sheet?**

"No."

 **Enjoy your Second Life!**

The world unfroze, and Jango started speaking. "Got any family, _ad'ike_?" he asked, and it took me a minute to figure out why. Right. Dead dad. Unfortunately, I had no idea if I had other family, but what the hell. I'd wing it.

"No, sir," I said. "At least, not that I know of." There, that should cover my ass if there was someone. But I hoped not. Maybe, if there wasn't anyone else, I could convince Jango to take me in. Who better to learn from than a man who could kill Jedi with his bare hands?

"Well," he said. "I guess we'll know soon enough."


	3. Chapter 2 - Naboo Orbit

**A/N: Hey y'all, I'm back. Hope you enjoy the new chapter! Bit of a timeskip here to get events rolling. Oh, and to the Guest who went on a rant about Gamer fics: If you don't like it and don't have any constructive criticism, kiss my ass.**

 **Chapter Two - Naboo Orbit**

Twelve years had passed since Galidraan. I had spent the first six years with Jango, learning all I could from the old man before moving on to start my own career. Jango had been a legendary bounty hunter, but I chose to tout myself as a merc, fighting other people's wars in exchange for credits, the traditional Mandalorian way. And I was damned good at it. At twenty years old I was famous in the community, had a nice nest egg built up for myself, and now events were finally starting to roll together for me to enact my master plan. The only downside was that I had only leveled three times in the interceding years. Apparently, leveling took a lot and S-class scenarios were few and far between. My first level-up had given me an active skill called Steady Hands, which guaranteed my shots to hit for about thirty seconds, usable once daily. The second had given me a passive called Sniper, which gave me a boost to accuracy when using scoped weapons. Not sure how exactly that worked, but it sure as hell did. I almost never missed with a sniper shot. The last level had given me a title: Mandalorian Warrior. I have no idea what that granted me, other than people staying the hell out of my way if I told them who I was. Oh, and my HP was up to 200 now.

In any case, I was making sure I was at the center of events as they unfolded. The Trade Federation was blockading Naboo, and I was sitting in the pilot's seat of my heavily modified Aggressor-class starfighter, waiting for a certain Republic corvette to arrive from a safe distance: the surface of Veruna, one of the planet's moons. I was reasonably certain I had the timing right. The blockade was in place, but the Federation had yet to begin landing any droid carriers, so Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon should be arriving soon. Finally, the red-and-white ship flickered out of hyperspace, interrupting my musings. I watched as it slowly moved forward, finally disappearing into the core ship's hangar. I engaged my ship's drives, lifting clear of the moon and engaging the stealth field I had installed. No visual cloaking, but it did a good job of blocking enemy radar. The rest was up to me.

I slipped out of the moon's gravity well, diving towards the planet. I kept my engines low, to minimize the telltale ion glow, and slipped beneath the Trade Fed capital ship. Inverting my fighter, I deployed my magnetized landing gear, latching onto the bottom of the vessel and engaging my boarding ramp. Which in reality was just a sealed tube with a cutting ring mounted on the end. After a few moments of burning, a hole opened into the ship, I pushed through and pulled myself up into the droid ship. Taking a moment to get my bearings, I saw I was in a maintenance corridor. Luckily it wasn't the first time I had been on one of these ships, having run jobs for the Trade Federation a few times, and I knew roughly where to go to find the two Jedi. My EE-3 leveled, I crept through corridor after corridor, eventually following the sound of blasterfire, and once I got closer the sound of lightsabers.

I found them as they fought the destroyer droids covering Nute Gunray's retreat. I slung an EMP grenade down the hall, frying the droids, the shouted at the two Jedi. "Come with me if you want to live!" Damn, do you know how long I had wanted to say that?

Obi-Wan started to speak, but Qui-Gon cut him off. "Follow him, I sense no duplicity in him," he said.

"Yes, Master," he said, running towards me as I gestured back down the corridor I had come from.

I took off at a near-sprint (thank you, system for near-infinite stamina) back down the maintenance tunnels, occasionally frying battle droids that got in the way. The two Jedi followed close behind, fending off blaster bolts coming from the way we had come. Finally, we arrived back at my entry point, and I turned back towards the others. "Down, the hatch, _jetti_. You're no good to me dead," I said.

Qui-Gon gave me a long look, then jumped down, closely followed by his apprentice. I blasted apart a pair of droids, the dropped after them, smacking down hard on the floor of the cargo hold. Which now held a pair of cells for the occasional bounty hunting job or interrogation, my weapons locker, supplies, and a case containing five lightsabers. My eyes landed on them as soon as I hit the floor, right before Obi-Wan hit me, bowling me over and holding his ignited lightsaber to my throat. "Oh, _shab_ ," I muttered, before pulling my feet up and delivering a donkey kick to his chest that flung him off of me. " _Udesii, jetti_. This isn't what it looks like, I'm on your side. Use your Force mumbo-jumbo to check if I'm telling the truth."

Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed, and he took a step back, his lightsaber still lit. "Then explain why you have five lightsabers on display in you ship," he snarled.

Shit. I had forgotten that Obi-Wan wasn't always the calmest individual, at least no when he was younger. Kinda like I had forgotten to stow the sabers somewhere out of sight. Well, nothing to be done for it now. I took a deep breath, then began. "Look, I would love to explain that, but right now we have some _very_ pissed off Trade Federation honchos on our _shebs_ , so what say we get out of the current mess before they find us and blow us into vacuum?"

Qui-Gon laid a restraining hand on his apprentice's arm, and the younger man begrudgingly deactivated his lightsaber. "Fine," he said. "But you will explain this after we get out of this mess."

"Fine by me," I said. "Right now we need to get down to the surface and extract the queen. That's the job I was hired to do, and I figure it lines up pretty well with whatever your mission is."

The two shared a look, then Qui-Gon nodded in agreement. "Very well. Let's get moving, shall we?"

I inclined my head, then started for the cockpit, the other two following. My cockpit had been stripped out and rebuilt from the stock model, just like most of the rest of the ship. Two seats, pilot and copilot for deep-space missions, and consoles to run every kind of sensor and weapons and defensive system available. The Jedi Master took the copilots seat, and the apprentice leaned over me as I sat down, gripping the back of the seat. I broke the seal on the docking port, and peeled away from the larger ship, angling back towards the surface.

Almost immediately, a squadron of Vulture droids broke off from their patrol pattern and swept towards us. I punched up the shields and started activating weapons systems. I had upgraded pretty much everything on my fighter. The shields and armor were military grade, the drive had been upgraded from a Sol Mk VI to a Sol Mk XII, and the hyperdrive was a Class I. But what I was most proud of was the weapons systems. The already fairly heavy armament of a pair of laser cannons, a pair of ion cannons, and a tractor beam had been improved. The center of the ship had been equipped with dorsal and ventral turbolasers with three hundred and sixty degree arcs, I had added concussion missile launchers to both of the hulls, and the finally, the coup de grace, a sonic mine layer a la _Slave I_. It would take a kriffing Star Destroyer to kill my ship, and I wasn't even sure if that would do it. "Little _jetti_ ," I barked, "get aft and man the turbolasers." He hesitated for a moment, then went. Both sets of guns were controlled from a central station at the center of the ship. A moment later, I felt the heavy _thrum_ of the turbolasers opening fire, and watched as the number of the fighters on the tactical display grew fewer. Jedi accuracy was certainly nothing to sneeze at.

The problem was that as fast as Obi-Wan shot them down, more swarmed up on us. The shields were holding, but for how long I didn't know. " _Jetti_ , activate that console," I said gesturing at a panel just out of my comfortable reach.

Qui-Gon hit a pulsing indicator, and a dozen targeting icons spun across the targeting computer screen, blinking twice before going solid to indicate a lock. "Is that a concussion missile launcher?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.

"A highly illegal concussion missile launcher."

"Yes."

"That you're about to use in front of two Jedi."

"Technically only one Jedi, the little one is a bit occupied at the moment. But yes."

"Just making sure," he said, then mashed the fire button. A dozen missiles burst from the starboard launcher, spinning and spitting trails of flame that quickly guttered out in vacuum. A brief moment later, and a dozen of the Vultures exploded, taking a few others with them as the shrapnel cut through space.

"Was that a concussion missile launcher?" Obi-Wan yelled up.

"Yes!" Qui-Gon responded before I could.

"Just checking!"

I pushed the sublight drive to its limits, sending us down towards the planet below. "I'm going to set us down in the swamps," I told the Jedi. "Try to get under cover, hide from droids."

"That might be difficult," Qui-Gon said. "Look."

In front of us, the droid transports were descending from the Lucrehulks, setting down all across the planet.

" _Shab_ ," I muttered. "Looks like I better hid the ship really well."


	4. Chapter 3 - Naboo Surface

**A/N: Hey, back again. Updates will hopefully start coming faster now. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter Three - Naboo Surface**

I set the Aggressor down in the swamps. My initial plan was to land near the city, but some asshat had decided to build the capital in the middle of the plains where there was nowhere to hide my starfighter. Pricks. Anyways, once the ship was down, we disembarked and with the Jedi's help managed to do a pretty good job of concealing the ship. Vessel hidden, the next order of business was to figure out how to get into Theed without being spotted by the droids, which by now had spread over most of the region. Or at least it would be, but I could see that they wanted answers about the rack of lightsabers in my hold now.

"So," Obi-Wan began, "are you going to tell us why you have five lightsabers?"

I sighed and pulled my helmet off, showing them my face for the first time. Obi-Wan looked mildly surprised that we appeared to be about the same age, while Qui-Gon seemed to have expected it. They reacted a little more strongly to the rest of my features. My eyes, of course, were a brilliant red, but as I grew older my ears had grown slightly pointed and my complexion had acquired a slight red tinge, all due to my Sith heritage. Speaking of which, I really should look into who my parents really were. It might be good to know. But back to the matter at hand. "It's pretty simple, really. I killed five Jedi," I said. Obi-Wan's hand immediately jumped to his saber, but I held my hands up placatingly. "Relax, _jetti_. I'm not here to kill either of you. Those five were a matter of survival. I killed them twelve years ago, at the Battle of Galidraan."

Now Qui-Gon was looking at me oddly. "Twelve years ago?" he asked.

"Yes."

"How old are you now?"

"Twenty."

"You killed five Jedi when you were _eight_?"

"It was chaotic, they killed my father. So I started shooting. Guess they didn't expect a kid to know how to shoot that well."

"Galidraan was… a mistake," Qui-Gon muttered. "We should never have been involved. Very well. Our mistake was costly to you and your people. We can move past the trophies. Now we need to figure out how to make it to the capital."

The two men began debating ideas back and forth, and I mostly tuned them out. I knew what the best option was. As the Jedi argued back and forth, I heard a strange sound, almost like screaming, starting far away but quickly getting closer. I knew immediately what it was: Jar Jar fucking Binks, the worst character in Star Wars (well, before the sequels introduced Mary Sue and Kill 'Em With Kindness). Sorry Ahmed Best, but you got cast in a shitty role and did what you could with it. But I digress.

The Jedi became aware of the screaming a few moments after I did, and turned to see a Gungan running in front of Trade Fed MTT troop transport. As Qui-Gon went to tackle him out of the way, I thought about stopping him and letting the annoying little _shabuir_ die, but Jar-Jar, and by extension the Gungans, were probably our best bet for infiltrating the capital. So I watched Qui-Gon roll him below the tank, saving his sorry life, before having an idea. I pulled my helmet back on and went into action. I knew there was a release for the front deployment hatch somewhere on the tank's front, so I sprinted ahead and jumped on, balancing precariously on one of the weapons pods. Now, I had mostly, but not completely neglected my innate Force abilities for the past decade. After all, I only picked up Force abilities for two reasons: to help avoid Force detection (thanks to a Force ability to remove your presence from the Force), and because telekinesis is hella useful. Those two skills I had put some work into. So I reached out with my senses, found the latch, and tripped it.

Apparently an external force opening the hatch activates the droids inside to defend the transport. There were a lot droids in there, and for my plan to work I couldn't risk an EMP. Luckily, I also had fragmentation grenades with me, because frags are fun. I thumbed the activation studs on a pair of grenades, rolled them in, then stepped clear of the entryway. Once the shrapnel was done flying, I drew my Verp and stepped inside, sweeping the interior for hostiles. The only droid still active was missing both legs and an arm (heh, I bet I underestimated its power), but was quickly shut down when I shot it through its control unit. It was at that point that the Jedi reached me, and came inside to stand beside me.

"What, exactly, was the point of this?" Qui-Gon asked. "Other than giving away our existence and position."

"Well," I said, "I thought knowing enemy troop strengths might be information worth having, and since all droids and their transports are networked through their mainframe…"

"You figure you can backtrace it and slice the data out of their battlenet," Obi-Wan finished.

I grinned wolfishly, not that they could see it behind the helmet. "Bingo." I ran a cable from my gauntlet to the tanks brain, pulling up data on the screen mounted on my forearm plate. Think a much sleeker, more functional Pip-Boy from Fallout. " _Shab_ ," I said. "It looks like there's an entire division stationed in and around Theed. No way in hell are we going to be able to get in through the conventional entrances."

"Then we'll need to get creative," Qui-Gon said. "Any ideas?"

"What about the amphibian?" Obi-Wan asked.

"He's a Gungan," I interposed. "Maybe his people can help us infiltrate the city through the waterways."

The two Jedi shared a look. "It's worth a try," Qui-Gon said. He turned and walked over to where the Gungan stood, striking up a conversation. After a few moments of chatter, he turned and came back to myself and Obi-Wan. "Jar-Jar here will take us to Ottoh Gunga, the local leader's capital. He may be able to help us get into the city."

"Then let's go," I said. I strode towards the Gungan, and he seemed to get the message as he turned and dashed off, the Jedi and I following close behind. We plunged deeper into the woods, occasionally stopping to hide from sporadic droid patrols. Finally, we reached the lake. Jar-Jar dove right in, the Jedi pulling out rebreathers and moving to follow. Obi-Wan stopped and looked back at me, still standing there in full _beskar_ armor.

"How are you…" His voice trailed off, but I knew what he was asking, and a smile curled my lips beneath my helmet.

"You'll find that I am full of surprises," I said. "Go ahead, I'll catch up." The Jedi nodded and dove beneath the waves.

Reaching behind my back, I grabbed a nozzle attached to a small air tank hooked to my jetpack. The loose end locked into a receptacle mounted to the right cheek of my helmet. My armor's seals were rated to nearly a klick of water pressure, so I would be fine. My jetpack also carried a fan and pump assembly, which would allow me to travel underwater even in full armor. Obi-Wan's look of surprise when I quickly caught up to them was gratifying. I won't inflict what happened during our meeting with Boss Nass. No one wants to hear about the goddamn Gungans. Long story short, within a few hours we surfaced in one of Theed's many waterways. Luckily, I had managed to convince the Jedi that the Gungan should be left behind, so as soon as we had disembarked the submersible sank back beneath the surface, disappearing the way we had come.

Before embarking the sub, I had returned to the Aggressor to mix and match my loadout for the mission ahead. I had kept my Verpine sidearm, but switched out my EE-3 blaster carbine with a Verpine shatter rifle I had cut down to work as a carbine with variable zoom scope, as well as picked up my Trandoshan APC scattergun and a WESTAR-33 automatic blaster pistol. The goal was stealth, but based on what I remembered from the movie and Qui-Gon's reputation, when things got heavy they were going to get _heavy_. As we made our ways towards the palace, dodging droid patrols along the way. My carbine was cradled in my arms, ready to snap down and acquire any target that appeared. My Verp was resting in its holster on my dominant right side, the WESTAR on the left, and the scattergun was hooked to webbing on my chest. As we drew closer to the palace, the number of patrols increased. Somehow, even in my heavy _beskar_ I was still stealthier than either of the two Jedi. More practice I supposed.

In any case, I roved ahead, dropping droids where necessary to secure a path forward. Hopefully the controllers would either not notice or put it down to remaining planetary defense forces. As we hadn't run into any more enemies than the increased patrols, I supposed that was the case. Finally, we reached the overhang the Jedi had used to ambush the party escorting Padme. I set up my rifle, adjusting the scope so that my crosshair centered on the stairs coming from the main building. The Jedi moved to clower on either side, waiting for the Queen's party to emerge.

Almost as soon as we finished setting up they came marching out. Captain Panaka, Queen Amidala, and a few officials and handmaidens whose names I couldn't care less about came out. Since the Jedi didn't have tactical comms and I didn't carry spare gear, I knew they would wait till I took my first shot to move. So I centered my crosshair on the command box of the droid bringing up the rear, exhaled, and caressed the trigger. The droid collapsed like a stringless puppet, I switched my aim to the next farthest droid and fired again, and the Jedi charged out of concealment, lightsabers blazing. I kept firing as they charged in, Panaka and the handmaidens seizing blasters and opening fire on the few remaining droids.

The engagement couldn't have lasted more than thirty seconds. The Jedi were taking control of the group when I swung over the balcony and dropped to the ground, flaring my jetpack at the last second to break my fall. Panaka and the handmaidens leveled their appropriated weapons at me as I approached, but Qui-Gon waved them down. "Afternoon, folks," I said. "Who wants to get out of here?"

The Queen glanced at the Jedi, then back at me. "Do you have a plan?" she asked.

"I assume you have a ship?" I said.

Panaka nodded. "The royal starship is in the hangar," he said.

"Then we're heading for the hangar. Captain, lead the way."

Panaka moved ahead, myself right behind him with my carbine at ready low, a fresh magazine loaded. We encountered surprisingly little resistance on our way to the hangar, and what little there was fell quickly to my carbine or Panaka's blaster. We finally reached the hangar entrance, and I peeked around the doorway, peering through the scope to see what I could see. A few pilots kneeling in the middle, a dozen or so droids guarding them and another ten or so wondering around the various ships. I turned back to the group to share the intel. "There's no way in the nine Corellian hells we're going to be able to do this quietly," I said. Then I grinned beneath my helmet, slung my carbine across my back and unlimbered the scattergun. "Let's kick some tinny _shebs_."

I dashed out into the room, the two Jedi following close behind and the rest trailing. I hit the first droid at a sprint, firing a cartridge straight into its head. Spinning off of that one, I fired twice more in quick succession, then ducked behind an N-1 starfighter to reload, half my load expended. I fed the cartridges in, then jerked upright and fired again just in time to catch a droid sighting in on Padme. The Jedi had taken care of the droids guarding the pilots, I had dropped four, and the few remaining had been exterminated by the others. "Get to the ship," I called. "I'll cover your exit and meet up with you on Coruscant."

The Jedi nodded and dashed up the ramp. It was true that I was planning to meet up with them on Coruscant, but I still had business here on Naboo to take care of. I watched the star cruiser lift off and blast out of the hangar, then turned and made my way deeper into the palace. My goal was simple: find Nute Gunray and steal the hyperspace transceiver from his mechnochair. I would honestly prefer not to reveal myself to Sidious at this juncture, but I hoped that I would be able to use the transceiver to break into the Sith Lord's comm network and monitor his movements. My boots pounded on the floor, heading ever deeper into the twisting corridors, blowing past droid patrols and meting out shotgun judgement when I had to. Finally, I skidded around a corner and saw them: Nute, his aide I never knew the name of, the mechnochair, and Darth Maul.

"Oh, shit," I muttered. I had hoped that Maul would have left already, but it seems the transmission from Sidious had just ended and he had yet to depart. I leveled my scattergun and blew off the aide's head. I couldn't kill the other two without altering events I needed to happen. Gunray squealed and ran, but Maul merely stepped back, gestured at some nearby droids, then turned and walked away. Thankfully. I took cover, and once the two untouchables were clear I clipped my shotgun back to my webbing and drew my WESTAR and an LDA canister. Laser dispersing aerosol worked both ways, but my blaster had been upgraded six ways from Sunday and packed about the same punch as a DL-44, so I knew it would work just fine against some B1 battle droids.

I pulled the pin, slung out the canister, and gave it a second to spread. Then I stepped around the corner, blaster leveled, and unleashed hell on the droids. There were six of them, and they went down in a hail of blaster bolts, only one of their shots getting through and smacking harmlessly into my chest plate. I rushed forward, reaching the mechnochair right as a timer flickered to life on a small screen. Left without much of an option, I fired quick shots into the mounts for the transceiver, wrenched it off, and ran for my life. I had just made it back to my corner when the chair blew, taking a good chunk of the walls and floor with it.

With all the chaos the Queen's escape and the 'assassination attempt' on Gunray had caused, it turned out to be child's play to slip out of the palace and the city, boosting a speeder close to the city gate. Within the hour, I was back in the swamps, at my ship. I stowed my gear and newly acquired comms gear, then lifted off and punched out into space, relying on my fighter's speed and maneuverability to get through the blockade. Once I won clear, I punched in my hyperdrive, course set for Coruscant.


	5. Chapter 4 - Coruscant

**A/N: Hey y'all, this one's probably gonna be real short. Not a lot happened on Coruscant, and I don't have a lot that needs to be done on the capital. Yet.**

 **Chapter Four - Coruscant**

My Aggressor settled onto its landing struts on a commercial landing pad right on the edge of the Works. I had spent the last several hours in hyperspace working to crack the encryption on the hyperspace transceiver I had nicked from Nute Gunray, without much luck in breaking in. The next part of the plan was predicated on my expectations. I had always thought it strange that Palpatine didn't send any assassins or bounty hunters after Padme while they were on Coruscant, as that would likely help convince the Senate of the threat, which was one of the early goals of Sidious' plan so far as I could tell. Therefore, I would keep an eye on them to make sure they didn't get ambushed in this new reality I had created.

Or at least I would once they got here from their side adventure on Tatooine. For now, I was heading for a safe house I had set up a few years ago in the Works, funnily enough not far from the building Palps used to meet with Dooku a few years down the road. After a few minutes of hiking and couple of jetpack-assisted leaps, I reached the hidden entrance to the safehouse. A trapdoor in a crawl space just barely large enough for me to fit in on my side, I squirmed in, opened the door, and dropped inside. The main entrance was useless for a quick entry or exit, which was why there was a disused turbolift shaft on one side for a faster access, but it was also far less low key so I tried to avoid using it unless I had to. The turbolift wall was bare except for a cot and dresser pushed up against it. The opposite wall held and armor stand and security station, with monitors linked to various cameras I had set up or hacked into around the area. The remaining walls were covered in weapons racks, almost every slot occupied by some exotic weapon I had picked up or boxes of ammunition.

I stowed my gear on the racks, swapping out my carbine and shotgun for a DH-447 sniper rifle, the same type I had used on Galidraan years ago. The WESTAR was replaced with a DH-17 with a noise and flash suppressor, and I kept my Verp, as it was already silent and nigh undetectable. Plus I don't think that weapon had left my hip while I was running an op in the last decade. I stacked my weapons next to the bed, then began peeling off my armor. The jetpack came off first, followed by my helmet. My bracers popped off and were stacked next to the weapons, then my body plate, greaves, and codpiece. Finally, I stood there in nothing but my bodysuit, and crawled onto the cot to catch some sleep, but not before pinging my fighter and setting the sensors to detect the tracking device I had planted on the Queen's vessel. When it broke atmosphere, my helmet would set off an alarm so I could go to work. Within moments I was asleep.

Thanks to the travel time between worlds and the amount of time they spent on Tatooine, it was three days before they arrived. I had spent the intervening time restocking my ammo, recharging my armor systems, and cleaning my weapons. All of my weapons. Since I had enough to cover both walls, that was quite an undertaking, but it wasn't like anything else I had to do with myself. I had an automated decryption suite working on the transceiver, and had just finished giving my armor one more once-over when the alarm went off. I scrambled to get my armor on, then, in the interest of speed, dropped out of the turbolift shaft, igniting my jetpack and heading back to my Aggressor. I stored a small speeder bike in a modified section of the hold, which hinged open to the outside when I sent the passcode from my armor. A small Aratech bike, similar to the one the Imperial scouts would use in about thirty years, became visible, and I swung my leg over the saddle, launching out into the cities' skylanes.

I quickly reached the platform the Queen and her Jedi protectors had landed on, then found an empty space nearby to set up. I was on my stomach, rifle resting on a bipod as I peered through the scope, scanning the buildings around for threats, when I heard movement behind me. Made sense, this was the best overwatch position. I rolled over, going for my pistol, expecting a blaster bolt to hit me, and was unpleasantly surprised when instead a burning red lightsaber blade buried itself where my back had been seconds before. I looked up, and who was there but Darth kriffing Maul, a look of surprise on his face.

"You?" he rasped.

"Me," I agreed, raising my Verp in one hand and the DH-17 in the other and opening fire. Maul's saber danced back and forth, deflecting the blaster bolts into the walls around us and turning the rounds from the Verp into slag.

Soon, both weapons clicked empty, so I dropped them to the floor. A feral grin traced its way over Maul's face and he stepped closer, raising his lightsaber for a finishing blow. That was when I drew and ignited the lightsaber I had been carrying since I set these events in motion, the blade glowing a brilliant blue. I may not have a skill to let me use it, but this was still a real world, and I could do whatever the hell I wanted. I had simply put the effort in to learn to use it. Admittedly, I was at a disadvantage against a Force user since I had put no effort into learning precognition powers, but I figured my lightsaber-resistant armor would make up the deficit.

At the sight of my saber, Maul faltered for a moment. " _You're_ a Jedi?" he said.

"No," I rejoined. "But I've killed a few." Then I charged, slashing from on high with the saber. He blocked with ease, and the next few moments was a flurry of clashing blades. Finally, he knocked me off balance, sweeping a thrust I had overextended on aside, then whipping his dual saber around to strike me in the back. The Mandalorian iron I wore stopped the saber cold, though my HP still ticked down a few points. Not enough to be worrisome, but it was good to know that I would still take damage even if my armor absorbed the blow. Maul was now off-balance himself, not expecting his strike to be stopped, so I jumped back to the edge, scooping up my weapons and returning them to my holsters, while my rifle went on a strap across my back. "Well," I said, "this has been fun, but since your targets got away I have no reason to stay here and let you kick my _shebs_. See ya!" I stepped back into the void, falling a couple dozen feet before flaring my jetpack to get to the pad I had left my speeder on. Mounting, I sped away from the confused Sith, heading for the Senate building. Even Maul couldn't get through that level of security and fight Jedi.

I caught up to the Queen and the Jedi on the steps of the Senate building, Qui-Gon nodding at the Senate guards to let me through. _Shab_ , that blue armor still looked cool. "Where have you been?" I asked, like I didn't know.

"Tatooine," the elder Jedi replied. "We had some hyperdrive trouble, and picked up a new friend." Here he gestured to the young Anakin Skywalker, who looked like a very young Hayden Christensen instead of Jake Lloyd. Interesting.

"I see that," I said. "He any good in a fight?"

"He's ten," Obi-Wan said.

"And I was eight when I killed the man who killed my father," I responded, deciding not to remind them that it was a Jedi who had done so. Based on their facial expressions, they remembered anyway.

"In any case, where'd you pick up that new burn on your back?" Qui-Gon said.

I was honestly surprised they noticed, as while I kept my armor clean and polished, it was still covered in dents and scratches from a decade of fighting. "My safe house is in the Works," I finally answered, and the Jedi nodded, seeming to understand.

The next couple of days were a mix of political bullshit and meeting with the Jedi council, which I was thankfully not invited to. Yoda or Mace might have realized that I was Force-sensitive or half-Sith, either of which would pose a problem as it would put me on the higher-ups radar. While I knew there was no avoiding being somewhat known, I didn't want to be famous. Long story short, the Senate once again decided to impose some weak sanctions, leaving us on our own to deal with the blockade. We planned to leave for the return to Naboo the next morning, so I returned to my safe house, making sure all was in order for the coming battle.

 **A/N: Hey y'all, hope you enjoyed the Maul fight! Sorry it was short. And for those who will inevitably complain about Maul winning: First off, Ryn didn't want to win. He needs Maul alive for now. Second, I'm using a level system similar to DnD, and Ryn is only level 6, plus I haven't made it clear (my bad, never written this kind of story before), but he's multiclassing as a warrior and a wizard (to put it in DnD terms), which makes him weaker at the start but stronger at the end. Plus, though I couldn't be bothered to assign everyone in the damn universe a level, Maul is probably somewhere between 12 and 15. Sidious, Yoda, and Mace are all 19 or 20. And for those who don't know, the max level in DnD is 20, though that will probably get broken through by Ryn. I just decided to not make too OP at the beginning, though it'll come in time, just like it would in a real game. *cough* how I play Dragon Quest VIII *cough* hardcore level grinder *cough***


	6. Chapter 5 - The Battle of Naboo

**A/N: Look at me, updating twice in one day! God only knows when this chapter'll come out, but be proud of me! Oh, and on the note of reviews: I have no problem with criticism, but for the love of God at least tell me what you didn't like so I can try to fix it (or not if it's intentional, that happens sometimes). Criticism helps me get better, but bitching doesn't. Capische? Enjoy!**

 **Chapter Five - The Battle for Naboo**

We dropped out of hyperspace in formation. The Jedi and a few of the guards were aboard my Aggressor, while the royal cruiser trailed behind us carrying the rest of the group. The plan was that we would clear a path through the enemy fighters and serve as the advance team for the Queen and her handmaidens. Obi-Wan was on the turbolasers again, though this time he was only running the topside guns while Qui-Gon ran the bottom turbolasers, allowing them to independently target the enemy. Panaka sat in the copilot's chair, while the other guards were strapped in back in the hold. As we closed, the holocomm on the console lit up with an incoming call. I punched it up, after all, what harm could it do?

"This is Trade Federation administrator Lok Durd!" the Nemoidian on the holoplate said. "This planet is under blockade. Turn around and exit the system immediately!" As he spoke, a squadron of Vultures dropped onto our tail, two of them targeting the chromium space yacht behind us.

I thought for a moment, then responded. "Kiss my _shebs_ ," I said, extending my middle finger at the hologram. " _Jetti,_ open fire!"

The turrets opened fire almost at the same moment, scrapping a half dozen of the twelve fighter squadron in the first seconds, including the two targeting the Queen. They kept firing on those trailing us as I turned my attention to the droids boiling up from the Lucrehulk transports. I pushed the sublights up to the highest speed the royal yacht could keep up with, sprinting towards the planet. I brought up the concussion missile control system, targeted the cloud of droids coming towards us, and fired all two dozen missiles currently loaded in the launchers. They all hit their mark, in most cases the explosion and resulting shrapnel shredding multiple other fighters.

Panaka's mouth fell open. "Was that a…?" he stuttered.

"Yes," I said. "Already been over this with the Jedi. Moving along to the next illegal modification." The ships dove through the fireball at the center of the cloud of Vultures, the remaining fighters dropping onto our tail. "Hold fire!" I yelled back to my Jedi gunners. I punched up the sonic minelayer I had installed, and set it to release and wait five seconds before arming, then triggered it twice.

The pair of mines floated out into space, and just after the Nubian cruiser swept past went active. The Vultures reached the mines, land they detonated, shattering the fighters into thousands of tiny pieces. By now, the conc missiles had reloaded, so I selected the engines of the main droid control ship and fired all twenty-four once more. I had one more load of missiles for each launcher, but I shouldn't need them. The first few missiles struck the enemy vessel's shields and detonated harmlessly, but then the shields buckled under the impact, allowing the rest to punch into the engines, utterly destroying them. That should disable the ship without destroying any of the control systems. After all, I needed Anakin to do that so that Palps would force the Jedi into training him.

Through the blockade, we once again landed in the swamps. Thanks to a call ahead, the Gungan leaders were waiting when we landed. I won't inflict that conversation on you ( _shab_ , I hate Gungans), but suffice it to say they agreed to fight, as in the movie. The plan was actually exactly the same, that is to say the same shitshow that Lucas came up with that only worked because of plot convenience. Ah, well. Now I was here to make sure things went to plan… well, mostly.

With the Gungans massing on the plains, infiltrating the city was surprisingly easy. Panaka knew about a small passage through the walls, so we slipped inside very close to the palace. We reached the hangar largely without incident, and events played out as before. Anakin launched, the rest escaped, and Maul came to pick a fight with the Jedi, this time with me at their side. Things played out mostly the same, fighting our way towards the reactor pit, and I made sure I was trapped on Obi-Wan's side of the laser screen.

Unfortunately, there was a problem. Qui-Gon was beating Maul back. And, as most nerds would tell you, Qui-Gon surviving would put a massive wrench in Palpatine's, and therefore my, plans. So I did the only thing I could. Making sure that Obi-Wan was too distracted to notice, I reached out with my TK abilities, and gave a slight tug on Qui-Gon's heel. That was all it took. He was off balance for a moment, and Maul's saber rammed through his stomach. The laser screen switched off, and Obi-Wan charged. He and Maul fought back and forth for a few minutes, before Obi-Wan was knocked over the edge of the pit, barely hanging onto a sensor. As Maul stepped forward to finish him, I stepped forward. Maul had forgotten I was there thanks to the intensity of the fight between him and Obi-Wan. I would have loved to see his face when I shot him in the back of the head with my Verp. As he fell to his knees, alive thanks to his Zabrak constitution, thick skull, and the dark side. That only lasted until I scooped up Kenobi's lightsaber, and beheaded the Sith. With Qui-Gon dead, I no longer had any use for him, and I would prefer not to have to deal with his Shadow Collective or Crimson Dawn.

I dropped to my stomach, reaching my arm down into the pit. "Grab on, _jetti_ ," I said.

Obi-Wan reached up and grasped my arm, and I pulled him up, his breathing still heavy. "Qui-Gon," he began, but I cut him off at the pass with a shake of my head. Of course, I was immediately surprised by coughing behind me, from where the Jedi Master had fallen. Obi-Wan was up in half a second, dashing towards his dying master. A quick scan with my helmet's sensors confirmed that Qui-Gon wasn't going to walk away from this, not without immediate medical intervention. And I wasn't about to intervene.

I could see the two men talking, the elder's breaths coming hard and too rapidly. I knew what was passing between them, so I let them have their moment. As much as I had manipulated and would continue to manipulate and use these people, I had to remember that in this reality they were people. It was easy to dismiss them as characters in a tale, but I had to keep in mind that they were people too. And so would react emotionally to stimuli, and not necessarily the way I expected. But the time for rumination would come later. At the moment we had a battle to win, and based on the comm traffic from our allies the droids were still up and fighting while our airborne forces struggled to break into the Trade Fed control ship. I left Obi-Wan behind, still grieving, and headed for the center of the palace. If the control ship wasn't going to go down, I would do take Gunray and deal with it myself.

I ran through the halls, my EE-3 leveled, frying anything that got in my way. Hall after hall, room after room, until I ran into a small atrium crowded with droids, with a pair of droideka blocking the other two hallways feeding into the room. I skidded to halt, leveled, and fired a sustained burst into the crowd, wasting who knows how many droids until the carbine's ammo counter clicked down to zero. Then I dropped down, ducking behind the column guarding the mouth of the hallway. I ejected the spent tibanna cylinder from my rifle, slapped another into place, then drew and primed a frag grenade. I had burned all my EMPs getting into the palace, so a frag and some ingenuity would have to do.

I slung the first grenade into the room, wasting the remaining B1s. The second frag I slid across the floor, just enough to force to carry it to the destroyer closest to me. If this didn't' work, it would at least knock down its shield capacitors some so I could finish it with my rifle. Luckily, it worked just like in the Clone Wars cartoon. The grenaded slipped right through the shield thanks to its low velocity, detonating and scattering destroyer bits across the room. I quickly repeated the action again, wrecking the remaining droideka. I stepped out and into the room, carbine up and ready, sweeping the room for any remaining hostiles. Finding none, I continued through the halls, closing in on the throne room.

When I reached it, I wasn't surprised to find Gunray making himself at home. As I rushed in, firing, the droids suddenly froze, then dropped to the floor. A grin spread over my face as I took aim at Gunray. I braced my rifle into my shoulder, then reached up with my off hand and pulled my helmet to let Gunray see my grin. I knew he wouldn't resist. It wasn't the Nemoidian way to get their hands dirty. I marched the captured alien back through the halls of the palace, finally reaching the front gate and walking into a gaggle of Naboo security guards, handmaidens, the Queen, and Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon's body was floating on a gurney behind them, and I couldn't resist making one last check to be sure. A small sigh of relief escaped me when my sensors confirmed he was dead. Unfortunate to be sure, but the man posed a threat to my plans.

In any case, Panaka and Padme were quite happy to see Gunray captured, and a security officer quickly stepped forward and put him in binders. While the others worked on cleanup, I made my way back to the reactor pit. Obi-Wan had taken Qui-Gon's body and lightsaber, but Maul's head and body, thankfully still separated, as well as his lightsaber still lay on the floor. I scooped up the saber and head, the saber for my collection, and the head just to be sure. After all, Maul had proven to be able to survive a bullshit level of punishment, and I wouldn't put raising the dead past Sidious in the Expanded Universe canon. For that matter, a Sith Zabrak skull would make an interesting trophy. Just to be sure, I doused the body in accelerant from my jetpack and shot it, leaving it behind to burn. I made my way back outside and pulled Obi-Wan aside.

"I need you to take credit for killing the Sith," I said.

"WHAT?" he yelped.

"You need to take credit for killing the Sith," I repeated. "I don't want that level of notoriety, and if I heard Qui-Gon's dying wish right you'll need some juice to make sure it happens."

"You'll just let me take credit for being the first person to kill a Sith in a thousand years?" he asked incredulously.

"No. You'll owe me a favor for this, to be repaid at a later date," I said. Seeing the look on his face, I continued. "Don't worry, it won't be illegal or go against you Jedi sensibilities. It's just good to have a Jedi in your debt."

He nodded. "Fine. I might need proof," he said.

"Alright." I tossed him the head.

"I meant-"

I cut him off. "I knew what you meant. You can have the head."

He dipped his head in defeat. "Very well. Will you be returning to Coruscant with us?"

I pulled my helmet off and grinned at him. "Nah. Job's done, and I need to get payed. See you around, _jetti_." I turned and walked away, helmet under on arm, the other raised in a wave. I made my way back to my starfighter, scoring a STAP from a downed droid scout to ride out to the swamps. It took a while, but eventually I was back at my ship. The comm light was blinking, and I punched the control to play the message.

An image of Jango Fett sprang to life on the console. " _Su'cuy gar_ , Ryn. I have an interesting job opportunity for you, if you're interested. Meet me on the fifth moon of Bogden a week from the day I sent this message. For that matter, come either way. It'll be good to see you again. _Oya manda_." The message blinked out, and I sat back for a moment, then grabbed the controls. It would take about three days to make it to Bogden from Naboo, so I had time to stop by my safehouse in this sector to refresh and make repairs. I smiled to myself and lifted off, aiming towards the sky and the distant stars. Events were moving apace.

 **A/N: Hey y'all, hope you enjoyed! And don't give me shit for Maul going out like a bitch, I hated that they kept bringing him back, so I wanted him to have an ignominious end. In any case, the dark side can backfire if the user is really pissed off by making them too laser focused, so BOOM, canon reason for him to go down easy. Hopefully the next chapter will come out quickly, since I don't have school tomorrow. I do have work though, so we'll see.**


	7. Author's Note 2

**A/N: Hey y'all. Got a couple people that mentioned that I should probably define some of the Mando'a used in the story. So , a brief rundown!**

Shebs - ass

Shabuir - asshole

Di'kut - idiot

Shab - fuck

Mir'shebs - smartass

Su'cuy gar - So you're still alive (Mandalorian greeting)

Shit. Thought there was more than that, and it's pretty much all cursing. Ah, well. Anyways. Here's a link to a Mando'a dictionary if you're interested


	8. Chapter 6 - The Moons of Bogden

**A/N: Not sure when I'll get this out, but I hope you enjoy! Please review!**

 **Chapter Six: The Moons of Bogden**

My fighter shuddered out of hyperspace in the Bogden system, and was almost immediately accosted by a ship of a type I didn't immediately recognize. Somehow, it was positioned just a few meters from where I had exited the hyperlane, a nearly impossible feat without knowing my precise astrogation calculations. That was my first clue something was wrong. My second was when I realized that the freighter floating in front of me was the kriffing Ebon Hawk. Y'know, the ship flown by Darth Revan and Meetra Surik some four thousand years before the current year, easily recognizable by its red and white paint job and U-shape, the cockpit jutting out of the center of the U.

The comms station flickered to life, the form of a young man with average length hair, wearing a cloak that concealed most of his body. "Hello, Ryn," he said.

"Do I know you?" I growled. "You certainly seem to know me."

"No, we haven't had a chance to become acquainted yet," he responded. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ajax, the Moderator."

"The Moderator? Is that supposed to mean something?" I said.

"It should. -." The last thing he said was nothing to me but a faint buzzing in my ears, but it resonated.

"What did you just say?" I bit out.

"Goddamn, they finally patched that bug?" he sighed. "Well, whatever. It was your name. Your original name, from your first life. I work for the Second Life System as a Moderator, ensuring that the universe survives whatever the subjects throw at it. And I have to say, I'm intrigued. You may be the first subject reborn into this era of this universe that _didn't_ save Qui-Gon Jinn. How about you come aboard and we can talk about it?"

A hop, jump, and a skip later we stood in the central chamber of the Ebon Hawk, the display table between us. I broke the silence first. "What do you want, Ajax?" Now that we stood face to face, I could see that his hair was silver as an old man's, despite his apparent youth. His eyes were strange as well, seeming to not have a color and instead kaleidoscoping through the spectrum.

"What do I want?" he chuckled. "That's a rather complicated question. For now, let it suffice that I want to know what you intend. Why ensure Jinn's death? Why the Mandalorians? Why not train yourself in the Force to its fullest extent? Why choose a race almost guaranteed to cause you trouble? Why?"

"Here's a why of my own," I retorted. "Why the hell should I tell you anything?"

The Moderator smirked and pulled something from his cloak, a small silvery hammer made of a material I didn't recognize. "Why should you tell me? Simple. This is the Ban Hammer, every Moderator has one. One smack of this, and you're gone forever. Wiped from existence, not a trace of you left. So again. Why?"

I scowled, dropping my hand to the grip of my Verp. No way in hell was I going onto an unknown vessel unarmed. "I don't react well to threats," I said, my tone remarkably even considering I was feeling a strong urge to rip this arrogant bastard's head off. "And good luck getting close enou…"

A breath of air, and he was behind me. "Understood?"

"Fine. You want to talk? Let's talk," I said. No use fighting an unwinnable battle. "What do you want to know?"

"Let's start simple," he said. "Why be reborn as a Mando?"

"Well, uh," I began, caught off guard that he would choose to open with a question completely unrelated to my plans.

"Speak up, then," he smirked.

My face hardened again, and I spoke once more. "Mandalorians are the best soldiers in the galaxy, and it put me into contact with people I needed to advance my plans."

"People like Jango Fett?"

"Yes."

"See, that wasn't too hard, was it? Now, why not train as a Force user?"

"With who?" I asked. "The only Sith available is Palpatine, who I doubt would train someone who randomly knew he was a Sith, and the Jedi are worthless fools too wrapped up in their supposed morality to see the growing threat right in front of them."

"Fair enough, but I'm sure someone with your skill set and knowledge could find another way to train."

"Probably. But then I would wind up on Sidious' or the Jedi's radar sooner than I wanted. I need to make sure that I have the power to oppose them before I do that."

His eyes narrowed. "Oppose both sides? Ambitious. But wouldn't it be better to ally with one against the other? I'm sure Kenobi would put in a good word for you, or Qui-Gon if he had lived. Why did you let him die, anyways? He probably could have stopped the Clone Wars with a push in the right direction."

"I know. That's why he had to die."

"You _want_ the war to happen?" he blurted, before quickly regaining control of himself. Good to know that he was still human enough to react emotionally. "You want millions to die? Maybe I should ban you now, save the universe the grief." He raised the hammer to strike, but I raised my hands placatingly.

"Let me explain."

"Fine," he spat, "but this had better be good."

"I assume you're familiar with the original story of this universe?"

His eyes closed for a second, then opened and he looked at me. "Legends continuity with a minor change or three. Carry on."

"In that case you know that the Empire isn't the biggest threat out there," I began. "There's the Yuuzhan Vong, the Chiss if we piss them off somehow, hell, I honestly never really believed that the Sith Empire was truly destroyed, so they might be out there somewhere. Their old capital is still run by dark side priests, after all."

"You still haven't told me what the fuck that has to do with ensuring the Clone Wars start."

"It's simple if you think about it. The Republic is too weak to combat even one of these threats, much less all of them. The CIS is no better, so the solution is to let the war run its course and allow the creation of the Empire and the largest military industrial complex in galactic history. Then use it to destroy my enemies."

"And you expect Palpatine to just hand you the keys to the castle."

"No. I expect to kill him, which is why I need the Clone Wars. You can't execute a coup without an army loyal to yourself to back you up."

A look of realization crossed Ajax's face. "That's why you're here. You know damn well who Jango was meeting with and why he asked you here."

"I do," I confirmed. "Now, are you going to stand down and get the hell out of my way, or are you going to make me try to kill you?"

Ajax chuckled, then waved his hand. A status screen appeared in the air in front of me. His name, and then under HP an infinity symbol. "You could try, but you wouldn't succeed," he said. "But in any case, a fight is unnecessary. You've convinced me to let you continue on your bloody path… for now. Just remember: if you go too far, I _will_ come for you." The Moderator snapped his fingers, and suddenly I was back in the pilot's seat of my starfighter, the Ebon Hawk disappeared without a trace.

I sat back in my seat, running a hand through my hair. "Well, shit." I glanced at the chrono. No time had passed from the instant the comm went live. "I am _so_ fucked," I whispered. Then I got back down to business. After my stops on the way, I had still arrived a day before the meet was set. The moons of Bogden drifted through space in front of me. I nudged my ship towards the fifth moon, a gray ball covered in shifting clouds. As my fighter slipped through the atmosphere, the surface below began to resolve. Small towns dotted the landscape, some larger than others, while some much smaller. The coordinates for the meet-up indicated the largest town on the moon, a cluster of hovels dominated by a massive junkyard, the wreckage of ships, droids, and other mechanicals scattered haphazardly. Unfortunately, the landing pads were right on the edge of the junkyard.

As my ship settled onto its landing gear, I could see a small man running towards me. By the time I had lowered the ramp and exited the ship, he was standing there waiting. Now that we were closer, I could see he was an Ugnaught, a tiny, portly humanoid with pale skin, wispy white hair, and beady blue eyes. "You can't land here!" he squeaked. "This pad is reserved!"

I sighed and pulled a high denomination credit chip from my belt. Easier to pay with my ample funds than argue with a moron. "Is it?" I asked.

"Maybe not," he said greedily, his tongue flicking over his lips at the sight of the chip. "Maybe I need a little more reminding…"

I flipped the chip to my other hand, his eyes never leaving it, then rested my now free shooting hand on the grip of my Verp. "Do you?" I asked, injecting a layer of aggravation into my voice.

His eyes snapped towards my holstered weapon and his whole body began shaking as he shook his head very hard. "No, no, no I remember! No one needs this pad! It's yours!"

I smiled under my helmet. "Good." I flipped him the chip, and he caught it with surprising dexterity for such a fat little shit. "I don't suppose you've seen anyone in similar armor to mine, only blue and grey?" I asked, producing another, smaller denomination, chip.

"I have, I have!" the Ugnaught said, the greed once more evident in his voice. "Landed a few days ago, payed me well! I think he went into town," he continued.

"Don't spend it all in one place," I said, throwing the second chip over my shoulder as I walked away, towards the town. I heard the fat man hit the ground hard diving to catch the creds, and couldn't stop the chuckle. But on to business, and probably a bit of pleasure. If I knew Jango, he'd be somewhere close to the center with lots of traffic to stay low-key. And I did know Jango, I had spent six years living with the man after all. The town was honestly more of just a series of shacks than a proper town. The main road had a general store, some shops, and some houses. On the opposite side of town from the junkyard was a cantina with a sign saying rooms for rent. Seeing as it didn't seem like there was anywhere else an outsider could stay for a few days, I figured that was my best shot. He might have taken over an abandoned shack, but it didn't look like there were enough of them to even hold the number of people I could see on the street and in the buildings.

I pushed through the door of the bar, which created an immediate cliche. I stepped inside, and all conversation died, as well as the music from the band in the corner. The cantina was sparsely populated, unsurprising in the middle of the day. A few scattered patrons who quickly turned back to their drinks when the band began playing, and a pair in a dark booth towards the back. The ceiling was low, and the tables close together. Not much light spread from the few glowtubes on the walls, but enough to see by as I made my way towards the pair at the back table. Reaching them, I plopped down into the seat facing the rest of the cantina, next to a familiar figure in Mandalorian armor, the helmet resting on the table. " _Su'cuy, buir_ ," I said, a grin spreading across my face.

Jango Fett's eyebrow quirked upwards, the closest thing to shock he ever allowed to cross his face. " _Su'cuy,_ Ryn," he said. "I thought you wouldn't get here until tomorrow."

"Well, plans change, and there's only so much armor a man can clean before he gets bored, you know," I responded.

Now the man across the table broke in. "Who is this, Fett?"

"My son," Jango replied shortly.

"Your son?" the other asked. "I was under the impression you had no family."

I decided it was time to open my mouth again. "Ryn Greth," I said, reaching across the table for a hand shake the other not-so-gracefully declined. "My father was killed at Galidraan, and I wound up living with Jango for a few years. You are?" I asked, though I of course already knew.

The other sat forward, the face of Sir Christopher Lee, or as he was known in this universe, Count Dooku of Serenno, coming into the light. "You may call me Tyranus. Now, I have business to discuss with your… father, so if you would kindly allow us to carry on…"

"Of course," I said, my grin undiminished. "I'll leave you to it. Comm me when you're done so we can talk, _buir_."

" _Elek, elek. Usenye_!" he said. Sure, sure, now fuck off.

I sauntered out of the cantina, making my way back to my ship to make sure that kriffing Ugnaught hadn't tried to strip it for scrap. He hadn't, so I relaxed in the hold, waiting for my comm to go off so I could head back for drinks and business. I could use a drink after screwing with Count kriffing Dooku. I had _not_ expected him to be that damn intimidating in person. Part of it was the whole wealthy patrician look and the cold eyes, but the amazingly dark aura he projected in the Force didn't help either. He was just as steeped in the Dark Side as Maul had been, and he must have been damn good at hiding it for the Jedi not to have noticed. I'd have to find a way to get him to teach me that trick, after all, if you could hide the Dark Side to that extent, why not your entire Force presence?

After a few hours of loafing around (ok, I was watching the news feeds from Coruscant to keep an eye on the fallout from Naboo), my comm chimed. "Come back to the bar, _ad'ike_ ," the small blue Jango said.

" _Lek_ ," I said. "See you in a few minutes." I deactivated the comm and redonned my helmet for the short trek to the cantina. A few more minutes and I was back in the booth at the cantina, this time across the table from my adoptive father. Well, most likely my second adoptive father considering that the one I lost at Galidraan hadn't been even a little bit Sith, and I doubted my mother had either. I really should figure that out, but I digress. "So," I began, slipping off my helmet. "Want to tell me what Mister Tyrant wanted?"

"He had a job offer," Jango said. "One I'm thinking I'm going to take. And one that you could help me with."

"What's the pay?" I asked. Hey, I was a merc, and even though I was pretty sure I was going to accept this particular job no matter what it still made sense to ask.

"5 million credits," he said. "But, it's a ten year commitment, and you have to be willing to cut all ties for the duration."

I scoffed. "Ties? You're pretty much the only other being I interact with for something other than business, _buir_."

"I thought you might say that," he smiled. "Which is why I already told Tyranus you would do it. I know the pay's not the best, but…"

"Any job with those requirements is bound to be interesting," I finished. "And you know I love interesting jobs.

"Exactly. Oh, and there's one other thing you should know. You're going to have a little brother."

Even though I was expecting it, it still came as a bit of a shock to hear the words from Jango's mouth, especially considering our… odd relationship. I saw him as a father figure, and he saw me as a son, but I was from another reality and he was, well, Jango Fett. Affection didn't come easily to either of us, so we honestly acted more like old friends or business partners than family. But in any case, I knew I had to respond. "Must be some woman to lure in the great Jango Fett," I said drily.

"No woman," he said. "The employer for this job are in the cloning business. As part of my fee, they agreed to clone me a son to raise."

I let a smile spread across my face. "Congratulations, _buir_ ," I said. "Have fun changing diapers."

A scowl flitted across his face. "Oh, you think you'll escape your brotherly duties? I think not," he grumped.

My grin only grew larger. "Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that old man. Back to business though. When and where?"

"One month from now, in the Kamino system. I have business to take care of before disappearing for a decade, and I imagine you do as well," he said, standing up and pulling his helmet over his head.

"You would be correct," I said, doing the same. We clasped forearms, then walked out of the cantina, then split apart, me towards my ship, and him off to who knows where. It was going to be along month. I had about two dozen safe houses scattered across the galaxy that needed cleaning out before I poofed. My back hurt just thinking about it.

 **A/N: Here's another chapter, little heavy on exposition but y'know. Gotta be done. Thanks to you guys who are still here, and I hope you continue to enjoy. Oh, and due to popular demand (also known as I am sick to death of comments about it), I'll take down the first tries at the prologue and chapter one. Did not expect people to get that pissy about my being too lazy to take it down. Hope you enjoyed!**


	9. Another Damn Author's Note (Sorry)

Hey y'all, sorry about the author's note. I should have another chapter up in a bit to make up for the disappointment of getting a notification for this. Anyways, I was real surprised at the amount of backlash I got for introducing the Moderator, so I'm going to let the people have their voice! There's a poll up in my profile on whether I should removed the Moderator or not. I'm going to leave it up till around this time tomorrow (10:00 on the US East Coast), and then I'll follow whatever you guys say. Hope you've been enjoying!


	10. Chapter 7 - Kamino

**A/N: Time to start introducing Legends characters! Who's read/played Republic Commando? You'll fucking love this.**

 **Chapter 7: Kamino**

My fighter settled onto its dampers on the rain-soaked landing platform as I shut down flight systems and engaged my security features. Then I looked out the forward viewscreen at the admittedly elegant Tipoca City, though the effect was completely ruined by the torrential downpour. I disembarked my ship just as the doors at the end of the walkway leading from the landing pad to the city swooshed open, and a pair of the tall, graceful, utterly repellent aliens known as Kaminoans came gliding out to meet me. "You must be Mandalorian Greth," the taller one began. "My name is Orun Wa, administrator of this city. This is my assistant, Taun We." The other dipped its head, or I suppose her head, in a sort of bow. "I must attend to other business, but Taun We will show you to your quarters and inform you of your duties." With that, he turned and strode back into the city. Seemed pleasant enough, though using my cultural roots as a title was a bit strange.

I turned to the second alien. "Shall we?" I asked, gesturing inside. While my armor kept me totally dry, standing around with rain hammering down on a metal helmet wasn't exactly what I would call comfortable.

"Do you not need any of your possessions?" she asked, her voice high and fluting.

"What I need, I carry," I responded. I had a rucksack with the bare essentials on my shoulder, and the rest could wait till I figured out what the storage situation in my room was.

"Very well then. If you would follow me," she said, turning and crossing the walkway to the building. As we walked in, I cast my eyes around the outside one more time, just in time to catch a battered freighter slip onto a nearby landing platform. I wonder who that was. Then, I had to turn and hurry to catch up to Taun We's long strides. It was a matter of moments to reach my rooms, walking through stark white and black hallways with no decoration evident. Of course, if I remembered right (and I was pretty sure I did), Kaminoans had heterochromatic vision, so the halls were probably a riot of color to them. But it doesn't matter. Once we reached my quarters and I had dropped my bag and doffed my helmet, Taun We started to talk again despite silence all the way here.

"We did our best to accommodate your species' needs," she said, indicating the couch, couple of chairs and table in one corner of the room. "The refresher station is through that door," here she indicated a door to the left of the one we had come through, "and a closet for all your… equipment here," motioning to a door to the right. "There is a sleeping area just beyond with a bed and dresser. Next door is a kitchen area you will have to share with the other occupants on this hall."

"Other occupants?" I asked. "Can I meet them?"

"Unfortunately, only one other has arrived," she responded. "He should be arriving here with Orun Wa any moment now. If that is all, I will leave you. There will be a briefing our your duties in the conference room two doors down at 1800 hours."

"Thank you," I said. It was currently only 1412 hours, so I had time to kill before the briefing and a new neighbor to meet. I walked out into the hall just in time to see Orun Wa walk out of a room two doors down. I nodded at him, which he returned, then turned and walked off the other way. I took the chance to walk down a bit and knock on the door.

After a moment, it slid open, revealing a man in Mandalorian armor like my own, though his was a sandy gold and even more pitted and scarred than mine. He looked at me for a second, then stood back from the door. "Who are you, _ad'ike_?" he asked.

I almost bristled, since he had pretty much just called me, a grown-ass man, kiddo, but considering I was almost certain I knew who this was I let it go. "Ryn Greth," I said, reaching out my arm. "You?"

"Kal Skirata," he said, grasping my forearm in Mandalorian greeting. "So you're Jango's kid. Come on in." He turned and walked back into the room, and I followed him as he pulled of his helmet. He turned back around one we reached the chairs in his identical room, revealing a weathered, scarred face with a nose that was broken a few too many times and close-cropped gray hair. He broke the silence. "I already hate those kriffing _gihaal_ ," he muttered as I chuckled to myself. I had forgotten that he referred to them as fish meal.

"I'm not a fan either," I commiserated. "Anyways, who do you think we're going to be training? The Kaminoans don't seem the fighting type and I haven't seen anyone else yet."

"This is a cloning facility, from what Jango told me," he said. "I figure we'll be training a clone army for some organization or another. Guess we'll find out at that briefing."

"Guess so," I said. At that moment came another knock on the door, and Kal moved back across the room to open it.

"Priest." The word came out of Kal's mouth in a low growly, and I was confused for a moment before remembering another Mando Jango had brought in.

" _Shab_ ," I muttered as I spun and moved to the door, laying a hand on Kal's shoulder to hopefully prevent him from doing anything stupid. Dred Priest, another member of the _Cuy'val Dar_ , or Those Who No Longer Exist, was one of Jango's less inspired choices. I was surprised the _manda'lor_ would even associate with him, considering Priest was about one step away from being Death Watch, y'know, the group that killed Jango's family. Hell, I was tempted to take a swing at the guy myself, but nooooo, I had to be the good guy and restrain Kal from knocking his block off. "Kal, _udesii, vod_ ," I said. Calm down, brother.

Kal took a deep breath, and seemed to come back to himself. "What do you want, Priest?" he asked. HIs voice was still more of a growl than anything else, but at least they weren't about to start brawling on the first day.

Priest smiled sarcastically. "Just seeing who the neighbors are," he said. "I know you, of course, but who's the kid?"

I stepped in front of Kal to stare Priest down. "Ryn Greth."

"Jango's kid?" he asked, seeming surprised.

I huffed. "Why do you all immediately think I'm just Jango's kid? I am one of the most lethal mercs in the galaxy, thank you very much! Did either of you infiltrate an enemy base, kill their commander, and exfil without being seen? Did either of you take down and entire company of enemy troops by yourself? Did either of you kill a kriffing Sith?"

I stepped back, breathing a bit hard. Wow. Did not realize that was bothering me that much. Also, did I just give away that I had killed Maul? Shit, only Obi-Wan knew that and I had made sure he wasn't going to tell anyone. Tyranus may have seen my face, but he still had no idea who or what I really was. God damnit. Well, time to move on and hope that doesn't spread. But now Kal was looking at me suspiciously.

"Y'know, I did hear there was a Mando on Naboo during that Trade Federation snafu a couple months back. I also heard that some _jetti_ apprentice was the one who killed the Sith. But if it was you, and you killed the Sith, that makes a lot more sense than some baby Force jockey taking out a Sith," he said. "So why let the _jetti_ take the credit?"

Fuck. "Because there are always two Sith," I said, "and I really don't need to deal with another one. I only killed Sith number one because he was in the way of the job I was being paid to do."

Kal and even Dred were nodding at that. "Makes sense," Priest said. "No sense drawing down heat if you don't have to."

 _Shab_ , I love Mandalorians, the wonderful pragmatic bastards. "Exactly," I said. "Now, can we move on?"

Priest glanced at the chrono on his arm plate, then turned away. "I have to go, Isabet should be here very soon." With that, he walked away.

"Oh, _shab_ ," Kal said. "Both of them? Why in the nine Corellian hells did Jango get _both_ of them?"

"What's so bad about them?" I said, feigning ignorance. "I mean, sure, Priest seems like a _shabuir_ , but how bad can he be."

"He's a Death Watch wannabe," Kal responded, and I let my face close off entirely.

"As in the bastards that wiped out Jango's family?"

"Yup."

"So why the hell did Jango recruit him?"

"Search me."

I shook my head and sighed. "Look, I've got some _tihaar_ in my room. What say we drink and swap war stories until its time for that briefing?" I asked.

Kal grinned. "Now you're speaking my language."

The next couple hours were a comfortable blur, aided by good stories, strong liquor, and the arrive of Wad'e Tay'haii and Mij Gilamar, with Rav Bralor showing up right as we were trying to sober up enough to make it through the briefing. Cold water wasn't working, so finally I pulled out a set of stims. "What the hell, it's not like we're going to be doing any real fighting for a while," I slurred. "Doc?"

I held out the syringes to Mij, but he waved them off. "I am waaaay too drunk to do that safely," he said. "Rav! A little help?"  
The brunette badass grabbed the stims and injected them into us one by one. As she finished me, the last in line, I grabbed hands and dropped to one knee. "You're a life saver, Rav. Marry me?"

She laughed and smacked me in the head. "You're twenty years younger, and I'll probably still outlive you if you fight like you drink!" she said, to general laughter from the other three. I fake pouted for a moment, then grabbed her around the waist and threw her over my shoulder. Between my stats and being only half human, it wasn't much of a strain even with her armor on. "Hey!" she yelled, to more laughter from the rest of the group. "Put me down right now, you kriffing _shabuir_! Hey!"

She kept yelling until we made it to the conference room and I dropped her into a chair, by which time her yelling was heavily interspersed with laughter. I was pleased to notice that the Kaminoans in the room, Orun Wa, Taun We, and one other who I assumed was Ko Sai, the chief scientist, looked thoroughly discomfited at our antics. After a few moments to let us get settled in, during which time a black armored Mando who I assumed was Walon Vau walked in, and Dred Priest and a woman I assumed was Isabet Reau, his girlfriend, they began the briefing.

The new Kaminoan stepped forward first. "My name is Ko Sai, chief scientist of this facility. I create the products you will be training, and will ensure discipline among the masses through my staff," she said. Then she turned and walked away to stand at a terminal and work on something. I wasn't surprised. Ko Sai had always lacked what few people skills Orun Wa or Taun We had in the books.

Orun Wa now stepped forward. "As you know, this is a cloning facility. We have been asked to create an army for a client, and were in need of trainers for the special forces elements of this unit. Luckily, the genetic template for the army, Jango Fett, had contacts in this field he could reach out to, and now you are all here. You will each be placed in charge of training a company of commandos. You will have Kaminoan assistants to take care of their basic needs, as well as minder droids. However, you will be in sole control of their training. You will be introduced to your men in the next few days."

With that, he turned and left the room, flanked by Taun We and Ko Sai. A voice came from the back of the room. "Alright, you're all dismissed," Jango said. "Kal, Ryn, come with me. We have some business to take care of."

The rest filed out while Kal and I followed Jango through the door the Kaminoans had used. A few minutes of walking, and we were back with Orun Wa and Ko Sai. "We apologize," Orun Wa said to Jango. "These are not suitable soldiers. We will recondition them immediately."

Jango rubbed his face tiredly. I'd be tired too if I had to deal with aiwha-bait all day. "Let us see them," he said. "Maybe we can find a use for them."

We walked into the next room and saw six kids huddled together in the corner. I had been expecting it, but it was still shocking to see two year olds that looked like four or five year olds, especially since the Kaminoans wanted to kill them for not being up to scratch. Kal reacted even more strongly immediately moving to put himself between the clones and the Kaminoans. "We have designated them Null class, and will terminate them as soon as…"

Kal's face turned red. "Null?" he said, his face low and dangerous. "As in no _shabla_ use? And you're going to TERMINATE THEM!?" By then end he was shouting, and in the middle of the noise, one of the Nulls, who had glommed onto Skirata's leg, grabbed the hold out blaster in the older Mando's boot and tossed it to one of his brothers, who aimed it at Orun Wa. A second later, my Verp cleared its holster and was aimed at Ko Sai.

"Kal?" I began. "Take them out of here. Now. Jango and I will sort this."

Skirata ushered the six little soldiers out of the room, N-11 still clutching the blaster and staring daggers at Orun Wa. I stepped back a step so my weapon could cover both Kaminoans, then lowered it a bit so it wasn't immediately threatening.

"I must protest," Orun Wa said. "Those clones are deviant, disturbed, and uncommandable."

"They just need a good leader," I countered, then turned to Jango, never taking an eye off of the _kaminii_ and keeping my pistol ready. "Let Kal train them. You know how he gets."

Jango nodded. "Yes, that's the best decision. Deviant soldiers often make good black ops troops. Kal will take care of them. Understood?"

Orun Wa nodded his acquiescence, and I holsted my Verp as Jango and I strode out of the room. As soon as we were out of earshot, Jango turned on me. "Did you really have to pull your weapon on Ko Sai?" he barked.

"She looked pissed, and I already hate her," I responded. "It was therapeutic, plus I wouldn't put it past her to try something."

"Fine," Jango sighed. "It doesn't really matter. The Kaminoans don't have enough emotion for that to have bothered them unduly. In any case, the reason I brought you with me is so we could talk about what you're going to be doing."

"Since we're having this discussion, I'm guessing I'm not getting a commando company?" I said drily.

A smile quirked Jango's lip. "You'd be right. I want you to take whatever you need to make a variable strike force at battalion strength. You'll have 576 slots to fill with whatever troopers you want, all trained and equipped however you want. The client will foot the bill for whatever kit you need."

My eyes sparkled at what I could do with that many loyal, highly trained clone troopers. I had hoped something like this would happen, though if it hadn't I would have pushed for it, and thanks to my connection to Jango likely succeeded. "Whatever I want?" I asked.

"Whatever you want."

"I'll have a list of what I need made up by morning," I promised.

"Good man," Jango said, then turned and left, leaving me at the door to my quarters.

 **A/N: Hope y'all enjoyed yet more exposition, not to mention some Legends character intros! (Kal, Mij, Vau, and the Nulls are some of my favorite characters). The next chapter will be a lineup of what exactly Ryn's battalion is going to be!**


	11. Chapter 8 - 77th Ranger Battalion

**A/N: Hope you enjoy! Honestly, I have no idea how to resolve the whole Moderator thing, since I do intend to remove it due to popular demand. I'm going to ignore the problem for this chapter, since it doesn't play in, but if anyone has an idea on how to patch the problem PM me. I've been busy with starting at a new school and a massive case of story block. Anyways, here we go!**

 **Chapter 8 - The 77th Ranger Battalion**

 **Day One - 0600 hours**

I stood on a raised platform above his assembled unit. Admittedly, they weren't exactly impressive at the moment as they were all about two years old, five developmentally. However, they would quickly grow into a formidable force capable of shredding any enemy he desired. For now though, they were an army of children who he would be responsible for raising into the 77th Ranger Battalion of the Grand Army of the Republic. To that end, he had requested, and received, soldiers from a variety of different units. One squads' worth (9 men) of Advanced Recon Commandos (ARCs), three squadrons of commandos (27 men), and another three platoons (108 men) of Advanced Recon Force (ARF) troopers made up First Company. Second and Third Companies were both made up of troopers formerly earmarked for the Galactic Marines, and Fourth Company was made up of regular troopers who he intended to crosstrain to fill both primary combat roles and infiltration roles, something easier to do with troops who had yet to receive any specialized training.

Once my unit was fully built it would be the most versatile fighting group in the GAR, capable of fighting a pitched infantry battle, assassinations and infiltrations, and anything in between. At least they would once I got them trained up. For the moment, they were five hundred and change children, and changing them into a cohesive fighting force started today. I nodded at an ARC trooper standing next to him on the platform, one I had specifically requested assigned to his unit.

"Ten-hut!" he yelled, his voice amplified by the training helmet on his head which linked into the room's PA system. Five hundred and seventy-six men came to attention in a clatter of plastoid armor plates.

"At ease," I said, clasping my hands behind his back. "My name is Ryn Greth, your CO (commanding officer) and primary training officer. Welcome to the 77th Ranger Battalion, and welcome to hell. I'm going to work you like you've never been worked before. You're going to be put through things you can't even imagine. And at the end of it, you're going to be the best soldiers in the galaxy. Your barracks assignments are being transmitted to your HUD. If you have any concerns, address them to ARC Alpha 77." At the last, I gestured to the ARC next to him on the platform. "This is Fordo. He will be serving as unit XO (executive officer - second in command) at least for the time being. First training session is in the attached gym complex at 0630. Dismissed."

 **Day One - 0700 hours**

"Alright, boys!" I shouted. "First lesson: if you can't fight in your skivvies, you've got no business going to war!" Assembled in front of him the entire battalion was wearing only the bodygloves they wore under their armor and carrying no weapons. The gym equipment had been cleared out of the room, leaving the entire area bare but for mats on the floor to pad it. "This is how your training will go: every morning you will assemble here by 0630. You will run unarmed drills until 0900, followed by workouts. Strength, cardio, the whole shebang. Meal break at 1200 hours, classroom courses from 1245 to 2000. Lights out will be at 2200 every night. You are expected to do any assigned work in that time. Once I'm satisfied you can keep up the pace, I will remove the curfew to allow you to socialize as a unit. These are your brothers. I expect you to know their strengths and weaknesses. It'll keep you alive on the battlefield. Today, I have a special present for you! The _Cuy'val Dar_ don't receive their training assignments until tomorrow, so today they'll be showing you self-defense drills. Go to it."

The assembled formation shattered, groups of clones moving to each of the instructors. Within ten minutes, the gym was filled with the sound of bodies colliding and smacking onto the padded floor.

 **Day One - 1250 hours**

"Your classes will consist of a rotating roster," I began. "Mandalorian History, Small Unit Tactics, Galactic History, Weapons Systems, Strategic Thinking, and Command. You will have four classes a day, with each class lasting an hour and forty-five minutes. You will not know which classes you have each day, so you will be expected to be prepared for all of them. Assignments will be transmitted to your terminals. You will be notified of any location changes or exercises twenty-four hours in advance. The classes will be a mixture of flash learning, live instructors, and exercises. Your first instructor today is Manda'lor Fett. Dismissed."

The class sat down, and I turned to leave. Jango caught his arm as he passed through the door. "Looks like you've got them well in hand," he said, a small smile crossing his face. The smile didn't do much to conceal how haggard the older bounty hunter was looking.

"Are you alright, _buir_?" I asked.

"Just tired," he responded. "Boba didn't sleep much last night. Would you mind looking in on him? I had to leave him with Taun We, and I don't totally trust the aiwha-bait."

I smiled genuinely. "Been spending too much time with Kal, _buir_. I'll go check on him."

Jango smiled back, bigger this time. " _Vor entye, ad'ike_." Thank you, son.

I stepped through the door, the sound of Jango shouting for attention audible behind me as the door slid shut. A few minutes walk took me to Jango's quarters, and a quick passcode gave me entry.

I stepped into the living area, then turned into the bedroom, where I saw Taun We standing by the crib, cradling the baby clone Jango had required as part of his price for this job. "Afternoon, Taun We," I said.

"Hello, Mandalorian Greth," she returned, her soft lilting tones soothing as always. The baby appeared to be sleeping peacefully in her arms, and I knew from some books about Boba post-Geonosis I had read in my old life that she genuinely did care about him and would try to protect him. Still, I had told Jango I'd watch him.

"I can take Boba for you," I said. "I'm sure you have other things to do."

"I do, in fact," the tall alien said, handing me the sleeping infant. "Thank you, Mandalorian Greth."

"Please," I began. "We're going to be working together for a long time. Call me Ryn."

"Very well. Good day, Mandalorian Ryn." She swept out as I rolled my eyes. It was progress. I'd take it.

I looked down at the baby in my arms, and couldn't resist grinning. Not only did I have a family in this world, messed up as it was, but my adopted father was Jango freaking Fett and Boba Fett was my little brother. That was not how I ever expected my life to go, even after I wound up in this world. And based on clone behavior in the books and games I had read and played, I was going to wind with an even larger 'family'. After all, the troopers were people too and I intended to treat them as such. When I wasn't playing drill sergeant.

 **Day 247 - 1217 hours**

"Congratulations, soldiers!" I yelled across the cafeteria, where the battalion was seated for their afternoon meal. "Your instructors have deemed you smart enough not to cut your own throats if we put a blade in your hand! We'll be spending the next training cycle on knife and vibroblade attacks and defenses. Your instructors will distribute them after formation break. Dismissed!"

 **Day 498 - 2100 hours**

"Fordo! Alpha! Gregor! Trauma! I need to see you four outside!" I shouted. The troops were in barracks, but when an officer calls you, you come. Within a couple of moments, the four were assembled in front of me in the hallway, standing at parade rest like the good soldiers I had trained them to be. "Congratulations, soldiers. Alpha, Gregor, Trauma, the three of you are hereby promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. Fordo, you are promoted to Captain. Alpha, you will have command of Nek Company, Gregor, you have Acklay Company, and Trauma has Vornskr Company. Fordo, you have Sleen Company and will continue to serve as battalion XO. Your companies haven't been formed yet, so discuss among yourselves and submit your candidate lists to me once you have them. Only stipulation is I need them by the end of the week. Dismissed."

 **Day 500 - 1000 hours**

"Welcome to the range, troopers!" I yelled. "This is where you're going to be spending two hours every day for the rest of your training. I want you all proficient in every weapon we have, plus whatever I manage to scrounge up in the coming years. Draw a weapon from the armory and report to the instructors for orders. We've been having you go over firearm safety in flash training for the last week, so I expect there to be no stupidity, understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!" the shout came back in one voice. Literally.

"Dismissed!"

 **22 BBY - 0613 hours**

"Sir!" The shout sounded like it was muffled by a mask… or a helmet. Shit. What was today? "Sire, you need to get up now!"

I opened my eyes and rolled out of bed, landing on my feet with my Verp in my hand, drawn from under my pillow. Turns out even ten years without a real fight doesn't break the habits of the preceding twenty-two years. Fordo was standing a few feet away, in full armor, his hands up and away from the DC-15s carbine in response to my drawn weapon. "What is it, Captain?" I asked, lowering the pistol to my bedside table.

"We're being deployed, sir. You wanted us to tell you before we left if it happened while you weren't with us."

"Where to?"

"Geonosis."


	12. Chapter 9 - Geonosis

**Chapter Nine - Geonosis**

"Hold the transport for five minutes while I grab my gear, Captain," I said.

"Sir, we're supposed to be gone," Fordo responded.

"That's an order, soldier. Five minutes."

"Yes, sir."

The next few minutes were a rush as I darted around the small apartment, strapping on armor pieces while I slung weapons into my bag. Quite frankly, I had no idea what we were going into other than one hell of a fight, so I brought everything I could think of. My Verp went into its holster on my hip, my knife into its shoulder sheath, and DC-15a long rifle on a three-point sling around my shoulders so it hung across my front out of the way of my legs. A Trandoshan APC array gun went into my kit bag, along with my disassembled DH-447. A few other pieces of kit and weapons followed, then I was out the door, following Fordo to the staging area. "Sitrep, trooper?" I bit out as we ran through the halls. I was hauling, but Fordo was keeping up, even despite my stat-boosted physical abilities. My men were the epitome of human ability. Eat your heart out, Erskine.

"Anti-Republic insurrectionists took a group of Jedi prisoner about eighteen hours ago. One of the Jedi was here a day or two before that, and chased the Manda'lor off-planet. Now the Jedi Council is calling us in to support a Jedi rescue mission," Fordo explained between breaths.

Everything was as I remembered it. I hoped I could save Jango in the melee that Geonosis was about to become, but I wasn't holding my breath. At the least I would find Boba and raise him as a proper Mandalorian. "Got it, captain," I said as we arrived at the staging area. We jostled our way onto one of the last gunships of 77th troopers right before it lifted off of the platform. Looking around, this was the first time I saw my men in their proper combat armor outside of limited training exercises.

Each of my men wore a slightly bulkier variant of ARF trooper armor, the distinctive helmet augmented with extra sensors and the body armor with higher-grade plating, roughly equivalent to the clone commando's Katarn armor. The base color was the same dark orange as my own Mandalorian armor, though each trooper was free to personalize it from there however they liked. The ja'ig eyes above my own eyepiece had been earned by several other men in the battalion, including my company leaders. We all wore webbing of a similar type to what I had worn in my previous life, minus the plate carriers obviously. Shimmercamo cloaks were stored on the back of the webbing, though I was the only one whose cloak hang off of my shoulder plate, similar to the small cape Boba wore in ROTJ. My men carried a motley assortment of weapons, from the standard issue DC-15 series weapons, to the commando DC-17, to more exotic weapons like sniper rifles, bowcasters, and slugthrowers, both Verpine and others.

My men were a motley crew, but they were also just as lethal as Skirata's Null ARCs. Speaking of which, one of them was on my gunship, smashed against a bulkhead. A few shoves and I was across the gunship, leaning against the bulkhead next to him. " _Su'cuy_ , Mereel. Ready for a real fight?" I said.

His face was covered by his helmet, but I could hear hear the smile in his voice. "Ready and raring, Commander," he said.

"Stay close once we're on the ground, soldier," I returned. "It's going to get hot real fast down there."

"How do you know that?"

"It always does, Mereel. It always does."

A few minutes later, the gunship touched down on the deck of an _Acclamator_ -class Star Destroyer. I couldn't resist a moment of internal fanboying. For God's sake, I'm a nerd and I was standing on a fucking _Star Destroyer_! How cool was that? After a moment I reigned my emotions in, and started giving orders, clustering my men together in one section of the hangar. A few commo conversations with my company commanders, and men from the other three companies began to filter in. Soon enough, the entire company of five hundred and seventy six men were assembled in one corner of the cavernous hangar. I stood over them, perched on top of a pile of ammo crates. "This is the real thing boys. You're the best trained, you're the best equipped, you're the best period. Get some shut eye while you can and get ready to kick some _shebs_."

It took several hours to transit to Geonosis. Luckily, I knew we'd arrive in time, but it was still amazing to me how perfect the timing would be. I'm not sure where we were when Yoda and the other Jedi who hadn't gone with Mace linked up with the fleet, but I felt it. A massive surge in the force, impressive when nearly a million of the three million strong clone army was all clustered in one place across a small fleet of warships. It was a few hours after that that we shuddered out of hyperspace above the rocky planet. When they had announced over the tannoy that we were closing in, I had ordered my men back onto the gunships. I rode one, and each of my company commanders and Mereel rode separate transports. If one was shot down, I had issued contingency orders on who took command of which unit.

As soon as we cleared the asteroid belt, the gunships launched, flying out into the blackness of space and angling down into the gravity well towards the planet. Vulture droids began launching from asteroid-based charging docks almost immediately, only to be torn apart by V-19 Torrent starfighters launching from behind us. As the asteroid field turned into an aerial battlefield, the gunships carried on towards the ground, the concussion missile launchers mounted along the dorsal ridge and the forward laser cannons firing at the occasional ground-based Vulture.

We broke out of the clouds, the doors on either side of the transports swinging open to allow troopers to clamber into the bubble turrets on either side. Looking out, I saw a massive open-air arena down below, right at the terminus of our approach. Sometimes the universe just dropped things right in my lap. I looked across at the other gunships and saw a diminutive figure that could only be Yoda in a nearby transport. We closed within range on the stadium, and I opened a comms circuit to the men on my gunship. "Snipers! Take any shots you can get! Heavies, take over once we're in range!" I shouted over the wind.

A pair of troopers carrying DH-447s stepped forward, hooking their webbing to hardpoints on the hull to hold in place. A second later the steady _bdapp_ of sniper fire began, audible even over the sounds of aerial combat all around us. Four more troopers moved up behind them, hooking in to other hardpoints and bracing a pair of Z-6 rotary cannons and another pair of Merr-Sonn reciprocating quad blasters between themselves and the hull. As soon as we entered range, the snipers stepped back, stowing their long guns and drawing DC-15a carbines from the small armory on board. The heavy troopers cut loose, the rotaries spewing a massive stream of blaster bolts at the bunched up droids in the arena below. The quads added their heavy fire to the mix, blasting apart groups of B1s and smashing super battle droids into the dirt. Even droideka shields went down after a few blasts from those heavy guns.

When we hit the dirt, I was the first one out the door, my long gun up and firing. A pair of troopers, one with a Z-6 and other with a 15a carbine, flanked me on either side, destroying droids around the landing site while the rest of the three squads on board unloaded. We pushed in, firing almost non-stop at the waves of droids coming at us. When we needed to reload, another group took the front, while we paused and swapped power packs. The shock of our attack had worked in our favor, even against droids. There were dozens of destroyed droids behind us, and only two or three trooper corpses. I winced inside. I had always hated losing men, and nothing had changed in this life. There's a reason I had worked alone until Kamino.

After about twenty minutes and twenty years of fighting, we broke into a more open area in the middle. Droids destroyed by lightsaber strikes now outnumbered ones wrecked by blaster fire, and a ring of Jedi stood separated from the droids by a meter or so. We broke in right in front of Anakin and Obi-Wan, who both tensed for a moment at our sudden appearance, then relaxed when the rest of the company I had assembled across the battlefield turned and engaged the droids.

I stepped toward the Jedi, transferring my rifle to my left hand and clapping Obi-Wan on the shoulder with my now freed right. " _Su'cuy gar_ , Kenobi. How you been?" I said, grinning under my helmet.

"Ryn?!" he said, the shock evident on his face.

"Good to see you to, _jetti_ ," I said. "Fancy a ride out of here?" It took less time to fight our way back to the LZ that Trauma and Alpha's men had secured, largely because my unit linked up with the rest of the company led by Fordo and Gregor's company, augmented by whatever troops Mereel had scrounged together. My men held the area while the Jedi loaded onto the gunships. As we prepared to lift, I pulled Trauma aside. "Lieutenant, pick two men and have them secure Jango's body. Boba should be around here somewhere as well, tell them to grab him as well and take it all back to the staging area," I said.

"Copy that, commander," he said, then turned around. "Banks! Jek! Draw some ammo and whatever weapons you want for a solo op!"

The troopers he had indicated moved towards the gunship that carried the majority of Vornskr Company's spare weapons and ammo. While they were busy pulling out what they needed, I walked up behind them. "Pull a couple of speeders," I said. "We may not be able to spare a gunship and the staging area is a long ways away with an armored corpse and a kid."

Banks looked up, startled at my sudden involvement. "Yessir," he sputtered. "Right away, sir."

"Relax, Banks," I laughed. "I'm an officer, not a kriffing _jetti_ wizard."

That drew a chuckle. "77th! Mount up!" I yelled, turning and boarding the nearest gunship. Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme were all aboard the same ship. "You really do have a penchant for getting in the middle of problematic situations, your highness," I said.

"Senator now, actually," she responded.

"Of course, how could I forget about Naboo's elected monarchy?" I said drily. I turned towards the Jedi as the gunship lifted. "Obi-Wan. Good to see you again. I presume this is the boy from last time?" I indicated Anakin with a nod of my head. I knew the answer of course, but I couldn't have them knowing that.

"He is," Obi-Wan responded. "You know, I was… inspecting this army not long ago. I didn't see you anywhere in my tour of the facility."

"Ah, so you're the surprise visitor that had Lama Su's pants in a twist," I said. "I had my men out on maneuvers while all that business was going on, missed all the excitement. Seems wherever you go excitement follows. Anywhere in particular you need to be dropped?"

Anakin had been leaning out the gunship door, but now he pulled his head back inside. "Master! Dooku's right below us on a speeder!"

Obi-Wan turned to look at me, but I held up my hands helplessly. "I have my orders, Kenobi. They don't include chasing random nobility on some _jetti_ apprentice's say-so."

Anakin rounded on me. "Nobility?! He's Sith, he's the one behind…"

Obi-Wan cut him off with an upraised hand. "I understand that, Ryn. Is there any way you could transfer us so we can pursue?"

I thought for a moment, then opened a tight band to a nearby gunship, not one of mine. "Pilot, prepare for midair passenger transfer. I'm sending a couple _jetti_ and a Senator your way."

Apparently I was known enough outside my unit for my orders to be followed, since the response came back fast. "As ordered, Commander." The gunship matched our speed and edged as close as it could, the wings almost touching ours.

I looked back at the small group. "There's your ride, fellas. One of you grab the Senator and jump for it. The pilot'll hold there until you're secure."

The two Jedi looked at each other for a moment, then Obi-Wan turned back to me. "Ryn, perhaps something a little less risky, we can't afford to endanger the Senator anymore than we already have…" Behind him, Anakin grinned stupidly at Padme, then grabbed her around the waist and jumped. They landed safely, and Obi-Wan realized what they had done even before he finished speaking. He sent me a plaintive look, obviously asking what the hell was wrong with his apprentice, then turned and hurled himself through the void.

He landed safely, and the gunship split away from me, angling away on the same vector Dooku had taken. Meanwhile, my small flotilla of gunships carrying myself, Fordo, and Sleen Company angled towards the primary staging ground. Alpha and Nek company had been deployed to secure the area around the coliseum, Gregor and Acklay had been sent after a weapons and ammo dump, and Trauma and Vornskr had gone hunting for Poggle the Lesser, an entire company necessary because of the size of his escort unit. On landing, my men quickly secured a perimeter while myself, Fordo, and a couple of his sergeants circled up to figure out our next target. Yeah, I lied to Kenobi. What? I remembered what happened to the gunship they took and I needed as many of my men alive at the end of this as possible.

We were working out which nearby droid factory would make the most sense to hit (and I was trying to figure out which one Delta would be raiding so we were out of their way), when someone I had been hoping to avoid until much later in my plan, if not completely, came storming up. Mace fucking Windu, flanked by Aayla Secura and Kit Fisto. Them I wasn't worried about, but the man who single-handedly ruined the word motherfucker might be a problem. "Clone! Gather your men and follow me!" he shouted at Fordo.

"Request denied, General," I replied at normal speaking volume. I knew he heard me based on the double-take I saw out of the corner of my eye. This was not a man used to be being refused bluntly.

"I don't think you understand, _Mandalorian_ ," he spat the word out like an epithet. "This is _our_ army," he gestured at himself and the two Jedi with him, "and I'm commandeering this unit for the duration of this battle at least by my authority as a general in the Grand Army of the Republic."

Wow. He'd been a general for an hour or two and he was already throwing his weight around. I hate kriffing Jedi. "This unit doesn't fall within the GAR command structure, General," I said, turning and facing him directly. "As such, you have no authority to take my men. Oh, and that's _Commander_ , not Mandalorian. I'm sure the quartermasters could use some help sorting supplies if you want to actually make yourself useful." I was going to regret that line, but this role was the only one I had ever seen Samuel L. Jackson in that made me dislike him.

"I don't know who you think you are, mercenary, but…" he started talking more, but I was sick of his bullshit. Screw it, I was already on his radar. Might as well shoot the moon.

I had turned back to the table after my little rant, but now I rounded back on him, my hand dropping to my belt. And past my Verp, to the other bit of hardware I had started carrying. I had never seen someone's expressions change so quickly, unless you counted changing to fear right before they died. Mace didn't get scared. He just got very, very calm when the tip of my lightsaber rested in the hollow of his throat.

"We've been trying to figure out who managed to get in and out of our security on Illum for months," he said. I only shrugged in response. "Do you know how to use that?" he asked.

"This may be the first lightsaber I built myself, but it's not the first I had to practice with," I said. "Understand?"

Mace's face had darkened at those words, then understanding seemed to come across his features, and he actually stepped back. "You're the one Kenobi met during the Naboo Crisis, aren't you?" he said. "The one that killed Jedi at Galidraan."

"I am," I said. "Now, are you going to keep trying to poach my unit, or will you find your own?"

"We'll be talking about this," he said, a flicker of anger crossing his face. "For now, we'll be on our way, if you'll have your men stand down."

Now that I wasn't focused on Mace's reaction, I realized that at the same time I had lit my saber, Fordo and his sergeants' weapons had been drawn and aimed at the Jedi, leading to the rest of the company that wasn't on perimeter guard either taking aim at them or at least lifting their weapons to ready low. Shit. That probably wasn't the best impression. Then again, neither was threatening to take his head off with a lightsaber. Though that seemed to have played out better than I expected, since he seemed to have more respect now. "Stand down, troopers," I said. "The _jetti_ were just leaving." Mace nodded, then turned on his heel and strode away, the two others following after a moment. Fisto seemed amused by the entire situation, though if I remembered right he found most things amusing. Secura looked murderous. She always had had issues with emotional detachment.

I turned back to my men. "So. 92a looks like a promising target," I said.

"Yup. Looks good, looks good," one of the sergeants said.

"Agreed." Fordo threw in.

"So..." I began.

"Yeah, let's go," Fordo said. "Sleen! Prepare to move out!"

Troopers rushed around, securing spare ammo, swapping out damaged armor plates, and swapping weapons for gear better suited to fighting through tight tunnels. I dropped my long rifle, swapping it out for my APC array gun and a 15s carbine. The carbine went into a long holster just forward of my Verp, and the scattergun went around my neck on a sling. I had just stood up from checking my ammo levels when a pair of BARC speeders came skidding up, a small figure bailing off of one of them before it had even come to a stop and heading straight towards me.

Boba Fett smacked into my armored leg at full speed, and locked his arms around my waist. He turned up his face towards me, and I could see one emotion on his face: pure unbridled rage. His face ran with tears and snot, but the look on his face would make a rancor take a step back. I understood. I had been there before. The first time I lost a man in combat. The second time. The third and fourth too. Point being that I understood his need to do _something_. To strike back, to take revenge. But I couldn't let him. It would be counterproductive to my plans. Counterproductive to Boba becoming who he needed to be as well.

I crouched to his height and wrapped him in a hug. "I know, _ad'ike_. I know," I said.

"I'm going to kill him. Mace Windu. He's dead meat," the boy muttered.

I was suddenly very glad that Mace had cleared out as fast as he had. "Okay," I told him. "Okay. We'll kill Windu. But not now. First we need to survive this battle. And even after that you'll have to wait. You'll need training, weapons, armor. Most importantly you need time and experience, or you'll make a stupid mistake and get yourself killed."

"WHAT?!" he shouted. "You want to let the _jetti_ _shabuir_ that killed our father live!?"

I pulled off my helmet and cut him off with a look. "No," I said. "There are bigger things going on here than our need for revenge. Have patience, and everything will work out in our favor."

"How do you know?"

"Because I'll make it work out our way."


End file.
